John Ryder, Bank Robbery, Rhode Island 2016

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A chilling bank robbery in Coventry has left law enforcement officials scrambling to bring the perpetrator to justice. W. Warwick man John Ryder, 28, was ordered detained in federal custody yesterday following an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Providence on a charge of bank robbery.

The brazen heist, which took place at a BankRI branch on May 2, 2016, netted Ryder nearly $6,000 in cash. Witnesses described the suspect as wielding a machete, threatening bank tellers who were forced to hand over the cash.

Ryder was arrested earlier yesterday at his home by FBI agents and Coventry Police Department detectives. The arrest and detention were announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Coventry Police Chief John S. MacDonald, and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the FBI.

According to court documents, an investigation by the FBI and Coventry Police determined that Ryder allegedly spent a considerable amount of time in and around a shopping plaza where the bank is located and in a wooded area directly behind the plaza. Surveillance footage showed Ryder on numerous occasions in and around the plaza, often wearing a backpack and camouflaged-patterned hat.

On the day of the robbery, Ryder entered the bank while wearing a mask, dark blue pants, hooded sweatshirt, and red jacket, and carrying a machete. He threatened bank tellers with the machete before fleeing into the wooded area behind the shopping plaza. A short time later, police discovered a backpack and camouflaged-patterned hat in the wooded area, later followed by a surveillance video of Ryder running from the area and getting into a vehicle.

Law enforcement was able to track down Ryder after interviewing him on May 6, 2016. Two days later, police obtained a federal search warrant to search Ryder’s cell phone, where they discovered pictures of an individual wearing the same clothing and mask as the alleged bank robber.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah. Coventry Police and the FBI were assisted by the West Warwick, Warwick, West Greenwich and Cranston Police Departments, as well as the Rhode Island State Police, in the investigation of this matter.

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