MA Bank Robber Arrested In Salem In 2020 Gets 90 Months In Jail

BOSTON, MA — A Methuen, Massachusetts man was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison Monday for a 2020 armed bank robbery in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts has announced.

Caio Costa, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin. The sentence also includes five years of supervised release, authorities said.

On July 26, Costa pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence in connection with a Sept. 25, 2020, robbery at the Salem Five Bank in Tewksbury.

Court records show that Costa entered the Salem Five Bank in Tewksbury armed with a loaded revolver and donning a black motorcycle helmet.

Inside the bank, Costa brandished the weapon, stole over $7,000 and fled on a motorcycle. Costa then led law enforcement on a high-speed chase, which reached speeds of up to 100 mph, authorities said.

Costa eventually crashed the motorcycle and escaped on foot. Authorities said they later located the helmet and clothing consistent with what Costa had worn during the robbery.

According to court records, on Sept. 26, Costa was arrested at Salem's La Quinta Inn & Suites, where he was found to be in possession of a large sum of cash.

WCVB reported that Costa was located at the hotel by Tewksbury police officers and members of the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force. Members of the Salem Police Department and Southern New Hampshire SWAT team then brought him into custody.

During an interview with law enforcement after his arrest, Costa admitted that he had robbed the same Salem Five Bank in Tewksbury three days before the Sept. 25 crime, authorities said.

Costa also admitted to other armed bank robberies between Aug. 28 and Sept. 25, 2020, according to authorities, including: on Aug. 28 at the Eastern Bank in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Sept. 18 at the People's United Bank in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Sept. 18 at the Reading Co-Op in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Costa also directed police to a dumpster where he had discarded the loaded black revolver, black gloves, a black backpack and other items of clothing used in the Sept. 25 robbery, authorities said.