Tewksbury Man Indicted on Bank Robbery Charge

TEWKSBURY, MA — A Tewksbury man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on one count of bank robbery.

Nicholas O'Neil, 37, was arrested in Tewksbury on Sept. 22. He was accused of the robbery that day of Tewksbury's Santander Bank.

According to prosecutors, O'Neil entered the bank and handed the teller a note and a red cloth bank. The teller put $5,689 in the red bag and handed it back to the robber.

Prosecutors say a customer at the bank watched the robber leave the bank and get into the passenger side of a white pickup truck, which was reported to the police.

O'Neil was arrested in Tewksbury the same day, along with the truck's driver, when police found the truck and "boxed it in" in heavy traffic.

In the truck, police found the red bag with the bank's money, as well as the demand note.

O'Neil was previously charged in state court in September and by federal criminal complaint in October.

O'Neil faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for the charge of bank robbery.

All people are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com