Jamaine Howell, Armed Bank Robbery, Massachusetts 2021

An Everett man has been charged with armed bank robbery in a brazen heist that left a bank teller and customers shaken. Jamaine Howell, 35, is facing up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after allegedly robbing a TD Bank branch in Allston on February 7, 2021.

According to charging documents, Howell entered the bank on Commonwealth Avenue and handed a demand note and a plastic bag to the teller. He threatened the teller and stated that he had a gun, and then allegedly threatened two bank customers and displayed a firearm. After taking his plastic bag, now containing about $5,900, from the teller, Howell instructed one of the customers to come with him and led the customer out of the bank.

The customer managed to flee while Howell was distracted, leaving the defendant to walk about a block alone. Later that week, police received a report that Howell brandished a firearm at a guest at a hotel in Sharon. On February 16, 2021, police officers arrested Howell and found him armed with a loaded .45 caliber Ruger handgun. A loaded semi-automatic shotgun was also found in a vehicle that had previously been rented to Howell.

Howell made an initial appearance before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley on February 16, 2021. The charge of bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence provides for an additional sentence of five years to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The Boston, Sharon, and Lynn Police Departments provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Abely and Charles Dell’Anno of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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