Crime

Third man arrested for Martha’s Vineyard armed bank robbery

Three people wielding guns and wearing plastic masks stole thousands from Rockland Trust bank in Tisbury last month.

A Rockland Trust bank on Martha's Vineyard was robbed by three armed, masked people last month. Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette

By Ross Cristantiello

December 12, 2022

A third person has been arrested in connection with the armed bank robbery that occurred on Martha’s Vineyard last month.

Ramone Andre Clayton, 21, of Jamaica, was arrested on Dec. 9 in Connecticut, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office said. He is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact to armed bank robbery.

Two other men, Miquel A. Jones and Omar Odion Johnson, have already been arrested and remain in custody.

One of three suspects who robbed Rockland Trust bank in Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard. *– Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office*

Clayton’s arrest marks the latest step in a sprawling investigation into the Nov. 17 robbery. That morning, three people allegedly wielding semi-automatic handguns and wearing identical white masks resembling an elderly man with exaggerated facial features forced their way into the rear door of the Rockland Trust bank in Tisbury. Security footage also showed one of the perpetrators using a walkie-talkie, officials said.

One of the masked people allegedly held a gun to the head of a bank employee, forcing him to open a vault. The three individuals then allegedly entered the vault and took approximately $39,100 before binding employees with duct tape and plastic zip ties. They demanded that an employee give them keys to a vehicle, and left the area in an employee’s car, prosecutors said.

That stolen car was found in a parking lot about 2 miles from the bank a short time later. Police determined that the perpetrators drove to that lot, abandoned the stolen car, and allegedly left in another vehicle.

Surveillance footage given to police by the Steamship Authority showed Clayton allegedly arriving at the Vineyard Haven ferry terminal at about 9 a.m., 40 minutes after the robbery. Clayton parked near the terminal, bought ferry tickets, and boarded a ferry at 9:21 a.m., prosecutors said.

At 9:53 a.m, Johnson was allegedly captured on surveillance cameras arriving at the same parking lot and getting into the driver’s seat of the silver sedan left there by Clayton. Prosecutors allege Johnson drove the sedan to a vehicle reservation booth, bought a vehicle ferry ticket, and boarded a ferry in the sedan at 12:24 p.m.

Jones and Johnson were identified as suspects during the initial investigation, officials said. Police found three $100 bills and clothing consistent with what the perpetrators were wearing in Jones’ car. They also found a black handgun in Johnson’s home, prosecutors said. Investigators found alleged evidence in Johnson’s car of an approximately $700 money transfer to Jamaica, and cash deposits totaling $4,100 made at a bank in Connecticut.

Police also searched a Tisbury farm used by a landscaping company that Jones worked for. They found a glove, a paper money band, a zip tie, and multiple rubber bands, officials said. They uncovered an area with signs of a recent fire, and found burned pieces of nylon, white metal plastic consistent with the masks worn by the robbers, burned walkie-talkie pieces, an antennae, batteries, and pieces of metal consistent with a duffle bag zipper, officials said.

A couple feet away from the burned area, investigators found two semi-automatic handguns loaded with 9mm ammunition buried a few inches under the ground, prosecutors said.

Jones was arrested on Nov. 19 on charges of accessory after the fact and was later charged with armed and masked bank robbery in Edgartown District Court.

Edgartown District Court issued a criminal complaint and arrest warrant for Johnson, who was located by police in New Haven, Connecticut, and taken into custody. The investigation remains ongoing, officials said.