A Haverhill man was arrested and charged today with robbing a branch of Santander Bank in Boston.
Federal swat teams blocked off streets near Primrose as reports came that a man barricaded in a church might be the man federal officials were looking for.
Gregory Carter, 58, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of bank robbery and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at 3:15 p.m.
According to court documents, 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 robber stated that he had a gun and repeatedly gestured to his pocket. During the robbery, the robber pulled down a facemask he was wearing and exposed his skin and a thin moustache. The teller handed the robber cash, which was later determined to be $6,129. The robber then exited the bank walking toward Beacon Street.
Following the robbery, the teller described the robber to law enforcement officers as a 5’10” light-skinned black male wearing a dark hat, black ski mask, sunglasses, a black puffy jacket and blue latex gloves. Law enforcement officers reviewed images from exterior surveillance cameras and determined that the robber drove through the area in a black Ford Fusion sedan and parked on Beacon Street. Following the robbery, surveillance images also recorded the robber returning to the sedan and driving away. The description of the robber and the vehicle were disseminated to law enforcement.
On March 28, 2017, a law enforcement officer who was 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 began to approach a Bank of America branch. When a Boston Police cruiser stopped in front of the bank, the individual turned around and returned to the vehicle. The officer queried the vehicle’s registration number and learned that it belonged to Carter. A criminal record check revealed that Carter is currently on probation for a prior bank robbery conviction in federal court.
Officers began conducting an investigation and surveillance of Carter, who they later determined matched the description of the individual who robbed the Santander Bank on March 25th.
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 US 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.