Worcester Men Sentenced for Armed Bank Robbery

BOSTON—Two Worcester men were sentenced today in federal court to over 15 years each for armed bank robbery.

CRAIG SPARKS, 28 and BENJAMIN MICHAUD, 33, both formerly of Worcester, were both sentenced by U.S. District Judge William G. Young to 188 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for the January 4, 2010 armed robbery of the Bank of America branch located at 625 Moody Street, Waltham, Massachusetts. SPARKS and MICHAUD plead guilty in October 2010.

On January 4, 2010, SPARKS and MICHAUD entered the Bank of America wearing ski masks and armed with what appeared to be handguns, which were later determined to be B-B guns. After ordering customers to the floor, SPARKS and MICHAUD approached two tellers and demanded money. The tellers gave them $10,676 in U.S. currency, and then fled in a stolen vehicle. After switching to another car they were located and pursued by law enforcement officials. They abandoned their car along Route I-95 and fled on foot through a wooded area toward Lexington. MICHAUD was arrested later that day and SPARKS evaded immediate capture but was later arrested on February 5, 2010 near Bangor, Maine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Division; Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Thomas M. Lacroix of the Waltham Police Department; and Chief Mark J. Corr of the Lexington Police Department made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Major Crimes Unit.