BOSTON - A Haverhill man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to robbing a branch of Santander Bank in Boston. At the time of his arrest, the defendant was on probation for a prior bank robbery conviction in federal court.
Gregory Carter, 58, pleaded guilty to one count of unarmed bank robbery. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Nov. 16, 2017. Carter was arrested and charged in May 2017.
On the morning of March 25, 2017, an individual entered a branch of the Santander Bank on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston and handed a teller a note indicating a robbery. The perpetrator stated that he had a gun and repeatedly gestured to his pocket. During the robbery, the perpetrator pulled down a facemask he was wearing and exposed his skin and a thin moustache. The teller handed the man $6,000 in cash, and the robber exited the bank.
Following the robbery, the teller gave the police a description of the robber, and officers reviewed images from exterior surveillance cameras, which revealed that the robber drove through the area in a black Ford Fusion sedan. Bank surveillance also recorded the robber returning to the sedan and driving away.
On March 28, 2017, an officer aware of the recent bank robbery observed a black Ford Fusion on Dudley Street in Boston. The driver, who matched the description of the robber, exited the vehicle and approached a branch of Bank of America. When a police cruiser stopped in front of the bank, the individual turned around and returned to his vehicle. The officer queried the vehicle’s registration number and learned that it belonged to Carter, and a criminal record check revealed that Carter was currently on probation for a prior bank robbery conviction in U.S. District Court.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge bases upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Somerville Police Chief David Fallon; Haverhill Police Chief Alan DeNaro; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, made the announcement today. The investigation was conducted with the assistance of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
