Rhode Island Man Receives 30-Month Prison Sentence for Two Bank Robberies

A federal judge has sentenced Jason Loyd, 33, of Scituate, to 30 months in federal prison for robbing tellers at two banks in Cranston in May. Loyd passed tellers notes demanding money at the Randolph Savings Bank on Pontiac Avenue on May 20, and at a Citizens Bank branch on Oaklawn Avenue on May 28. Police arrested Loyd after he crashed his pickup truck during a high-speed chase immediately following the May 28 robbery.

United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha announced the sentence, which Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi imposed on December 4 in U.S. District Court, Providence.

At a hearing in August during which Loyd pleaded guilty to the robberies, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zechariah Chafee said the government could prove that Loyd went into the Randolph Savings Bank on May 20, wearing a safety vest and a yellow hard hat. He handed a teller a note demanding money, and fled the bank with about $2,550.

On May 28, Loyd handed a note demanding money to a teller in the Citizens branch on Oaklawn Avenue, and fled with about $2,060. A Cranston Police officer spotted Loyd in a pickup truck leaving the bank area just before the police broadcast of the robbery, and reported it to police headquarters. Loyd was wearing all brown clothing, the description that bank personnel had given to police.

Another officer spotted Loyd’s truck on I-95, and a chase ensued, ending when Loyd crashed his truck on Route 6 in Providence, near the Plainfield Street exit. Police found cash on the center console and floor of the truck’s cab.

After receiving treatment at Rhode Island Hospital for injuries sustained in the accident, Loyd admitted both robberies to police. Tellers at both banks identified him as the robber.

Judge Lisi ordered Loyd to make restitution totaling $4,610 to the banks.

Cranston Police and the FBI conducted the investigation.