Jamaine Howell, Bank Robbery, Massachusetts 2021

BOSTON – In a shocking turn of events, Jamaine Howell, a 36-year-old Everett man, pleaded guilty to committing the February 2021 armed bank robbery of a TD Bank branch in Allston.

According to court documents, on Feb. 7, 2021, Howell entered the TD Bank branch on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston and handed a demand note and a plastic bag to the teller. Howell threatened the teller and stated that he had a gun, then proceeded to threaten two bank customers and displayed a firearm. After taking the plastic bag – containing approximately $5,900 – from the teller, Howell instructed one of the customers to leave the bank with him.

However, the customer managed to flee while Howell was distracted. Later that week, police received a report that Howell brandished a firearm at a guest at a hotel in Sharon. On Feb. 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 pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for May 10, 2023.

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.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. The Boston, Sharon and Lynn Police Departments provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Dell’Anno of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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