Posted on 11/21/2022 9:17:32 AM PST by Beowulf9
Miquel A. Jones was arraigned Monday morning in Edgartown District Court on a charge of being an accessory after the fact in connection with Thursday’s armed bank robbery of the Rockland Trust in Vineyard Haven.
Jones, 30, is a former Jamaican pro soccer player, according to attorney Casey Dobel who represented him in the courtroom. Jones will be represented by attorney Matt Kelly.
Court records show Jones is a Jamaican national who lives in Edgartown. His job listed on court records is landscaper.
Bail was set at $300,000 by Judge Benjamin Barnes with a curfew and GPS if he makes bail.
A narrative written by Trooper Dustin Shaw included with the arrest warrant for Jones indicates what led police to him.
The armed bank robbery occurred on Thursday, Nov. 17, at about 8:15 am, according to the report. “Investigators learned from the employees/victims that three individuals wearing all black dark clothing, armed with semi-automatic handguns forced their way into the bank and ‘removed a sum of U.S. currency’,” the report states. The bank employees “were bound by duct tape and plastic restraints,” the report states.
As The Times has previously reported, the suspects fled the scene in a vehicle stolen from one of the bank employees.
“Investigators determined through the use of surveillance video that the employee’s motor vehicle was abandoned in a parking lot at approximately 8:29 am,” the report states, “just minutes after the assailants departed the bank.”
At that secondary scene near the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, “duct tape and pieces of ‘green shrub-like vegetation’ were found inside the abandoned Murano vehicle, stolen from the employee,” the report states. “Investigators also determined that ‘almost immediately after the employee/victim’s vehicle was abandoned’ a dark blue Hyundai Elantra with ‘a missing driver’s side rear tire hubcap’ left the parking lot where it was located. The 2007 Hyundai Elantra was determined to be ‘likely involved in the robbery’ through investigative measures including speaking to witnesses and observing surveillance footage from multiple sources.”
As The Times was first to report, a vehicle matching that description was seized Friday night near the Shell gas station on Beach Road on Vineyard Haven. “On Nov. 18, a motor vehicle stop was conducted on the suspect 2007 Hyundai Elantra with the missing driver’s side rear tire hubcap,” the report states. “Miquel Anthonio Jones, who was operating the vehicle, agreed to speak to the police. Jones admitted to being in possession of the 2007 Hyundai Elantra for five weeks and being in the parking lot where the employee’s vehicle was abandoned at approximately 8:20 am on the day of the robbery. Jones was evasive throughout the course of questioning. While speaking to Jones, investigators observed a green, vegetation-like substance, which appeared similar to the material located in the abandoned employee/victim’s vehicle, on his shoes.”
Police obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and allegedly found “three one-hundred dollar bills, two of which displayed sequential serial numbers,” the report states. “One hundred dollar bills were among the denominations stolen during the robbery. Also found were one pair of white Nike sneakers and dark clothing, which are consistent with surveillance videos and witness statements.”
The report also indicates that the investigation is ongoing.
Details unfolded over the weekend Dukes County Sheriff Robert Ogden told The Times Saturday afternoon that someone related to the Thursday morning Rockland Trust bank robbery was in custody. He said a press release from the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office would be issued that day. Tara Miltimore, a spokesperson for the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office, subsequently emailed the times a brief statement:
“There has been an arrest of one individual in connection with the robbery of the Rockland Trust bank. The investigation is ongoing and active.”
On Friday night, a sedan was seized by police on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven and someone was questioned. It is unclear if the person who was questioned Friday is the same person who was arrested Saturday, or if someone else was arrested.
In an email to The Times early Saturday evening, Tisbury Police Chief Chris Habekost wrote that he cannot release further information at this time because “to do so could jeopardize the integrity of the sensitive and active criminal investigation.”
Habekost indicated he conferred with all the Vineyard chiefs and they agree information needs to be withheld for now.
“The safety of the public is assured by all law enforcement officers on this case as well as our normal patrol and emergency response units,” Habekost wrote. “If anyone feels in immediate danger, please call 911 for an emergency response.”
Not very bright to be one of very few black guys on Martha’s Vineyard and then to rob a bank and try to make a getaway.
He just wanted a cash advanced on his share of the reparations.
Maybe he thought he could just melt into the crowd and never be noticed...
A black man in chains ! That’s racist’ .
Friend of mine is saying, “I just think a person who robs a bank on a small island is a couple sandwiches shy of a picnic”.
It seems pretty stupid. Also he is a landscaper, the getaway car had grass cuttings same as on his shoes. Duh.
Especially in the off season on MV.
There are probably only three or four other Black dudes on MV when the Obamas and Oprah are not visiting.
I don't think I have ever seen all black clothing that was not dark.
Oak Bluffs has always had blacks residing there.
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Especially in the off season on MV.
There are probably only three or four other Black dudes on MV when the Obamas and Oprah are not visiting.
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Blacks have been visiting and living on MV since the 1870’s.
Sorry, I forgot the sarcasm tag. I have been on the island many times.
Yes, Oak Bluffs in the Summer has been a big retreat for Black people in the Methodist church. They had summer tent revivals there. They built lots of Gingerbread Victorian cottages around the main tent area. These took place of the tents that they used to erect and stay in during the summer. There is a beach in Oak Bluffs called the Ink Well because of the large amount of Black bathers.
On MV the wealthy white people all went to Edgartown. Their servants all lived up in Oak Bluffs.
Martha Vineyards was a Quaker settlement in the Nineteenth Century and welcomed all. Perhaps ironically, there is a memorial to the Confederate Soldier in Oak Bluffs, erected by a former Confederate Army Major, with the inscription, "Brothers Once Again".
I stayed in Oak Bluffs in 1997. It was half and half. Nice people, really, no problems. Fun to play volleyball or catch with. I would go back any time.
And yes, there are more blacks in Oak Bluffs than any other town. I also find Oak Bluffs to be the most normal, but again it's MV so normal is relative.
FWIW, when I've been on the Island, I found the white liberals to be the pinnacle of annoying...one of them in 2020 yelled at me from a car "wear a mask" as I was walking down Circuit Avenue.
Further, when I drove up island, (where there are VERY FEW non-whites), there was a sign that said something like "Welcome back to Chilmark. We expect you will obey the 14-day quarantine period. Sincerely, Concerned Citizens."
“Nice people”
Yes, that is because almost all the Black people staying in Oak Bluffs in the summer were all Methodist. Good, God fearing , Christian people. Probably a lot nicer than the rich liberal white people down in Edgartown. Like the Kennedy’s.
LOL, shoot or stab someone on the subway, take their purse and leave them for dead, that’s cool. But touch a BANK and suddenly they are Ironman after you.
Typical.
There are probably only three or four other Black dudes on MV when the Obamas and Oprah are not visiting.
There is a black community residing on Martha's Vinyard, close to a thousand individuals.
From a pro athlete, to mowing lawns to unsuccessful bank robber.
I remember testily telling my daughter to lock her bike because a drunk Kennedy might come by at night. We had no problems with the coloreds.
I have been visiting MV since the 1930s……my mother had 3 sisters that settled there in the 20s……one in Vineyard Haven and 2 in Edgartown.
It used to be Republican…..aaaah for the good old days.
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