Plymouth Township Detective Receives Award For Work On 'Straw Hat Bank Bandit' Case

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — A local detective was recently honored by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for his work on a string of bank robberies in which the suspect was ultimately sentenced to more than 70 years in prison.

Plymouth Township Detective Jeffrey McGee, a veteran investigator with the department, won two awards from the federal prosecutor's office for his "exceptional investigative skill," which helped lead to the arrest and prosecution of the man who had been dubbed the 'Straw Hat Bank Bandit,' according to the Plymouth Township Police Department.

The bank robber, ultimately identified as Richard Boyle, was sentenced in February 2020 to 71 years in federal prison for what prosecutors called a brazen string of 11 bank robberies across Montgomery and Bucks Counties between 2012 and 2016, which netted him more than $495,000 in stolen cash.

The U.S. Attorney's Office had said that Boyle, who was 60 years old when he was sentenced to prison last year, used threats of violence during the commission of his crimes, which involved ordering bank employees to open safes and ATM machines at gunpoint.

Boyle even stalled police response by calling in false reports like a bomb threat at a local country club and a planned attack at a mall in order to buy himself time during the robberies, according to federal prosecutors.

The government says that Boyle would then launder the stolen money through his photography business, Sky Eye View, in an attempt to conceal the source of his income.

Last February, then-U.S. Attorney William McSwain, who is currently running for Pennsylvania governor, said that the prison sentence would effectively mean that Boyle would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

McGee, the Plymouth Township detective, was one of many investigators from agencies all across the Greater Philadelphia area who worked to solve the case of the 'Straw Hat Bank Bandit.'

In Montgomery County, those departments included the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, the Plymouth Township Police Department, the Horsham Police Department, the Upper Dublin Police Department, and the Whitpain Township Police Department.

Numerous Bucks County police agencies and state investigators also assisted in the joint investigation.

Boyle's crimes were reminiscent of infamous bank robbers like John Dillinger and the team of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who have gone down in history of some of the most prolific bank robbers of all time. The latter two hit around 15 banks during their crime spree.

Federal prosecutors previously said that Boyle had served time in prison for bank robbery before he was released and started up his crimes again. All told, he actually hit around 19 banks dating back to around 2007, according to past news reports.

The Philadelphia Inquirer had reported that Boyle was a "mild-mannered father of four from Bucks County," who lived in the Doylestown area with his wife and children.

Patch previously reported on Boyle's arrest and conviction.

In addition to McGee's awards, another Plymouth Township Police Officer, David Phillips, was also recently recognized by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Phillips was named as the winner of the Lt. Joseph P. Rosko Montgomery County SWAT Officer of the Year award.