Providence Man Sentenced For Robbing Banks In Cranston, Providence

CRANSTON, RI — A Providence man was sentenced Thursday to nine years in federal prison after he admitted he robbed four banks in Cranston, Providence, and North Providence in a three-day span in 2021.

Vaughn Watrous, 48, pleaded guilty on April 24, 2024, to bank robbery. Along with his prison sentence, Watrous must serve a year of federal probation and pay $4,775 to the banks he robbed.

Watrous admitted to robbing three banks in Providence and Cranston between Jan. 19 and Jan. 21, 2021. He also admitted to attempting to rob a fourth bank in North Providence on Jan. 21, 2021.

This was not the first time Watrous has been convicted of bank robbery. He was released from federal prison in February 2020 after he was convicted of robbing several Rhode Island banks in February 2013. He had also been convicted of robbing banks in 2003 and 1997.

In 1997 Watrous was convicted in the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Utah, on a charge of bank robbery and sentenced to four years and three months in prison. In 2003, he was convicted in the U.S. District Court in Providence on two counts of bank robbery and was sentenced to six years and four months of incarceration.

The matter was investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of the Providence, Cranston, and North Providence Police Departments.

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