BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced yesterday for the October 2019 robberies of the TD Bank in Worcester and the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere.
Samuel Jose Baptista, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Judge Hillman also ordered Baptista to forfeit the money found on him after the second robbery and ordered restitution for the remaining amount stolen from the banks.
In February 2020, Baptista pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery.
On Oct. 20, 2019, Baptista entered a branch of TD Bank in Worcester and informed the tellers, “this is a robbery” and demanded $10,000 in cash. Baptista told the tellers that he had a bomb in his backpack and that they had five minutes to get the cash before Baptista would detonate the bomb.
On Oct. 26, 2019, Baptista entered a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere and passed to the teller a withdrawal slip, on which he wrote“10/21/19” and “$10,000.” Baptista then told the teller “this is a robbery,” that he wanted $20,000, and that he had a bomb in his backpack. After receiving money, Baptista fled the bank in a lime green taxicab.
Witnesses from the bank reported to police the license plate and color of the taxicab. Shortly thereafter, local law enforcement found the taxicab parked in the Northgate Shopping Center, and the taxi driver informed police that Baptista had entered a store in the shopping center. Police found and arrested Baptista with the money from the East Boston Savings Bank on him.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent; and Revere Police Chief David Callahan made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.