The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on March 21, 2022, Malik Pratt, 24, of Burlington, Vermont was arrested and appeared in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont for his initial appearance following the filing of a complaint which alleges that he robbed People’s United Bank in Burlington, Vermont on March 1, 2022.
According to the complaint, Burlington Police Department officers were dispatched to the People’s United Bank on North Avenue in Burlington, Vermont on March 1, 2022 at 10:06 a.m. following reports of a bank robber. Also, according to the complaint, bank employees stated that the robber threatened to shoot them and demanded cash. After acquiring cash, the robber fled the bank on foot, jumping over a fence near Ethan Allan Parkway to escape. The bank reported a total of $1,316 in U.S. currency stolen.
The criminal complaint lodged against Pratt contains accusations only, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The defendant is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Burlington for a detention hearing on March 23, 2022. The charged offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. Any actual sentence will be determined with reference to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The Burlington Police Department and United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are jointly investigating the crime. Pratt is represented by Richard R. Goldsborough, Esq. The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Paul Van de Graaf.
U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Burlington Police Department in their collaborative investigation of Pratt.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. https://www.justice.gov/psn