Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today to the October 2019 robberies of the TD Bank in Worcester and the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere.    

Samuel Jose Baptista, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman, who scheduled sentencing for June 11, 2020. In November 2019, Baptista was charged by criminal complaint. 

On Oct. 20, 2019, Baptista entered a branch of TD Bank in Worcester and demanded $10,000 from the bank teller. On Oct. 26, Baptista entered a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere and demanded $20,000. In both instances, Baptista threatened to detonate a bomb if the bank did not turn the money over to him.   

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 20 years, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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 James Guido made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.