A man has been sentenced to a decade in prison Wednesday for a November 2022 bank robbery on Martha's Vineyard that set off an extensive manhunt, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Miquel Antonio Jones, 33, of Edgartown, Mass., was accused of leading the conspiracy to rob the Rockland Trust bank brand in Vineyard Haven on Nov. 17, 2022. Prosecutors alleged that Jones decided what bank they would rob and provided what was needed to his co-conspirators, including dark-colored clothing, plastic masks with exaggerated facial features, zip ties and duct tape. He also paid one of the other defendants to bring a gun.
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Prosecutors allege that three of the suspects - Jones, Tevin Porter of Bridgeport, Conn. and Omar Odion Johnson of Canterbury, New Hampshire - forced their way through the rear door of the bank, armed with at least two semi-automatic handguns. One of the suspects held a gun a bank employee's head and had the employee open the vault. The suspects made off with $39,100.
The employees were reportedly bound with duct tape and zip ties during the robbery as the suspects rifled through their belongings.
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Prosecutors further allege that the suspects escaped in a car stolen from one of the bank employees driven by a fourth conspirator, Romane Andre Clayton, then abandoned it at Manual Correllus State Forest. They drove away in another vehicle that they had parked for the purpose of escape, prosecutors say.
It is alleged that Porter met up with Clayton and the pair left Martha's Vineyard on a ferry later that day, while Jones and Johnson got rid of the evidence, including the guns and plastic masks they were wearing during the crime. These were eventually found burned in a hole at a local farm where Jones worked.
After, prosecutors say, Jones went back to his home and hid the stolen money, later meeting up with Porter and Clayton, and driving to the area of Johnson's New Hampshire home.
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Two days later, Nov. 19, Jones was arrested on state charges of accessory after the fact and later charged with the robbery. Johnson was arrested a few days later in New Haven, Connecticut.
According to court paperwork, police found several $100 bills in Jones' car, as well as dark clothing that matches what the suspects were wearing during the robbery. Investigators also say at Johnson's home they found a black handgun, and paperwork noting cash deposits of $4,100 to a Connecticut bank, as well as a $700 transfer to Jamaica.
Jones was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Clayton, Johnson and Porter have each pleaded guilty to the charges against them and are scheduled for sentencing in January.
