Alleged Coventry Bank Robber Arrested

COVENTRY, RI—A 28-year-old West Warwick man has been arrested in connection with the May 2 robbery of a BankRI branch in a Coventry shopping plaza.

John Ryder, 28, was ordered detained in federal custody today after appearing in U.S. District Court in Providence.

Ryder, police said, is the man who stormed into the bank branch while carrying a machete before he demanded money from a teller and fled with about $6,000 cash.

Ryder's capture is the result of thorough police work by members of the Coventry Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Police reviewed surveillance footage at and near the bank recorded in the days leading up to the robbery, going back as far as April 29.

In the footage, Ryder can be seen on "numerous occasions in and around the plaza, at times with a backpack and camouflaged-patterned hat," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence.

Ryder was seen spending a "considerable amount of time looking in and around the bank," apparently in planning for the robbery.

After robbing the bank, police said, Ryder fled into a wooded area behind the bank and later, he was recorded running from the area and getting into a car.

Police recovered the hat and backpack in the woods behind the shopping plaza. They then tracked down the owner of the car and that person allegedly confirmed he drove Ryder from the area.

Four days later, police interviewed Ryder. Four days after that, on May 10, police got a search warrant for Ryder's cell phone, which revealed "pictures of an individual wearing the same clothing and mask as the alleged bank robber," according to the release.

The photographs also showed that they were taken in the same area where the backpack and camouflaged-patterned hat were located.

Coventry police and the FBI were helped by police from departments in West Warwick, Warwick, West Greenwich and Cranston. the state police also assisted in the investigation.