Martha’s Vineyard gripped by dramatic island bank robbery as suspects remain at large

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Multiple suspects remain at large for the bank robbery in Martha’s Vineyard where an unspecified sum of money was stolen. The suspects’ getaway driver is currently being held with a $300,000 bond and is charged with aiding the suspects.

Three masked individuals with semi-automatic handguns entered Rockland Trust bank in Martha’s Vineyard on Thursday around 8:15 a.m., according to the Vineyard Gazette. They bound bank employees with duct tape and plastic restraints as they stole an unknown sum of money and fled in one of the employee’s vehicles. Employees were not physically injured during the robbery.

IMMIGRANTS FLOWN TO MARTHA’S VINEYARD SUE DESANTIS

The robbers ditched the employee’s vehicle, which was later found near the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest. Investigators located a “green, vegetation-like substance” in the employee’s stolen vehicle.

Police determined that right around the time the driver ditched the employee’s vehicle, a dark blue Hyundai Elantra missing a driver’s side tire hubcap left the parking lot of the forest.

On Friday, police arrested Miquel A. Jones, 30, of Edgartown, and charged him on Monday with accessory after the fact in connection with the bank robbery. Jones was pulled over driving the Elantra after police noticed it matched the description of the car leaving the parking lot.

Jones admitted to being in possession of the Elantra for five weeks and was in the parking lot when the stolen vehicle was abandoned at around 8:20 a.m., according to prosecutors during Jones’s Monday arraignment hearing.

Cape and Islands assistant district attorney Michael Giardino said investigators found the same green, shrub-like substance in the Elantra as in the stolen vehicle, as well as three one-hundred dollar bills that matched serial numbers that were stolen from the bank. Police also found a pair of white Nike sneakers and dark clothing that was consistent with the apparel worn by the robbers.

“Based on the evidence that we have now, there is probable cause at least to show that Mr. Jones was involved in the aftermath of the robbery and assisted with the getaway,” Giardino said during the arraignment.

Jones’s probable cause hearing is set for Dec. 16. Prosecutors worried that Jones, a Jamaican citizen whose visa ends in March, would leave the country and not stand for trial if he posted bail.

In response, District Judge Benjamin Barnes ordered a $300,000 bail. As a condition of release, Jones must be monitored by GPS and have a nightly curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Jones has not made bail and is being held in one of the jails in Dukes Correctional Facility in Dukes County, Massachusetts.

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The three robbers are still at large. Police released an image of one of the bank robbers wearing a black hoodie and Halloween-type mask on Friday. All three robbers were wearing the same mask.

At this time, investigators do not have any leads regarding the identification of the robbers, how much money they stole, or whether they have left the island.

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