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Jamaine Howell, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence in the February 2021 robbery, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Federal officials said Howell entered the TD Bank branch on Commonwealth Avenue on February 7 with a plastic bag and a mission. He handed the teller a note that demanded cash and threatened violence if he didn't get what he wanted, officials said. He showed the teller and two customers that he had a gun on him during the robbery.
The teller stuffed $5,900 in the bag, but Howell wasn't done, authorities said. He demanded one of the customers go with him as he made his escape. They did as he asked, but the potential hostage escaped about a block later when Howell got distracted, the prosecutor said.
Police arrested Howell a little more than a week after the robbery and found a loaded semi-automatic shotgun and a loaded .45 pistol, officials said.
Howell faces a potential 25-year prison sentence for the robbery charge and an additional five years for the firearm offense, federal authorities said.
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