Bank Employees Were Bound During Martha's Vineyard Armed Robbery: DA

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA — One person was arrested in connection to last week's armed robbery of a bank on Martha's Vineyard, the District Attorney's Office said.

Miquel Anthonio Jones, of Edgartown, was arraigned this morning in Edgartown District Court on one count of accessory after the fact to an armed robbery. Jones is held on $300,000 cash bail with conditions of release to include GPS monitoring and an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Dec. 16.

What We Know

The District Attorney's Office released an arraignment report alongside news of Jones' arraignment that included details from inside Rockland Trust on the morning of Nov. 17.

Investigators learned from the employees that three masked gunmen, wearing all black dark clothing and armed with semi-automatic handguns, forced their way into the bank, stealing an undisclosed amount of money.

Employees were bound by duct tape and plastic restraints, officials said. After leaving the bank, the three suspects fled the scene in a car they took from one of the employees, officials noted.

Three masked gunmen who robbed Rockland Trust Bank in the Vineyard Haven community of Martha's Vineyard on Thursday morning.

Surveillance video revealed that the vehicle was left in a parking lot around 8:30 a.m. later that morning. Duct tape and pieces of "green shrub-like vegetation" were located inside the vehicle.

Soon after the car was left in the parking lot, investigators said a dark blue Hyundai Elantra with a missing driver’s side rear tire hubcap left the parking lot.

"Through investigative measures, which included speaking to witnesses and observing surveillance video from multiple sources, it was determined that the 2007 Hyundai Elantra was likely involved in the robbery," the report read.

Enter Miquel Jones.

Police stopped a car matching the description of the 2007 Hyundai on Nov. 18. Jones was the driver, and agreed to speak with police, sharing that he had the car in his possession for five weeks prior to the traffic stop.

Police said he admitted to being in the parking lot around 8:30 a.m. the day before, but was "evasive" to questions. Officers did, however, notice a green, vegetative substance on Jones' shoes, according to the report.

Police executed a search warrant of the car, where they found three $100 bills with sequential serial numbers, an indicator that they were likely bills stolen from the bank. They also found a pair of white Nikes and dark clothing that matched those seen in the surveillance video and matching witness statements.

All those factors led to the charges against Jones, according to the report.

However, the matter remains under active investigation by State Police detectives assigned to the District Attorney's office, Tisbury Police, and the FBI.

Falmouth Investigation

The District Attorney didn't address whether an investigation at a Falmouth Holiday Inn was connected to the robbery investigation. However, NBC 10 reported that the investigation was believed to be connected, though the law enforcement officials on the scene didn't find the suspects during a sweep of the hotel.

The Falmouth Police said there was an active police incident scene on Jones Road around 1 p.m. on Thursday. Area schools were put in a shelter-in-place status "as a precaution."

The schools put into shelter-in-place were Mullen-Hall School, Lawrence School, and Morse Pond School. Falmouth school officials said "students and staff remain safe and are continuing normal day activities inside the school."

However, the lockdown did affect pickup for students at Morse Pond. All students at Morse Pond were taken by bus to Falmouth High School for dismissal.