Two Plead Guilty to Warwick Bank Robbery
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 31, 2012 |
PROVIDENCE, RI—A Providence man and woman arrested a short time after robbing a Warwick bank and then fleeing in a taxi have pled guilty to federal bank robbery charges announced U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha, Warwick Police Chief Colonel Stephen M. McCartney, and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office.
Anthony Miller, 24, and Christine Halverson, 37, pled guilty as charged to conspiracy and bank robbery charges and face sentences of up to 25 years in federal prison followed by up to six years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000.
Miller pled guilty on Monday and is scheduled to be sentence by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith on April 27, 2012. Halverson pled guilty on December 20, 2011, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge William E. Smith on March 23, 2012.
At the time of their guilty pleas, Miller and Halvorsen admitted to the court that on August 30, 2011, they entered a Citizens Bank branch office together and demanded cash from two tellers. Miller admitted that he presented a note to a bank teller demanding cash. Halvorsen admitted that at the same time she verbally made the same demand of a second teller. The pair fled the bank with approximately $1,900.
According to information presented to the court, bank employees provided police with a description of a taxi in which the pair fled the bank after the robbery. A short time later, a Warwick Police sergeant who heard a police radio broadcast of a description of the taxi observed a vehicle matching that description stopped in traffic. As the officer exited his police vehicle and approached the taxi, Miller fled from the taxi but was quickly chased down by the officer and arrested. Halvorsen exited the taxi cab but was quickly detained.
Warwick officers recovered a large quantity of cash from the roadway in the area of the taxi the two were riding in. Several other items tying Miller and Halvorsen to the robbery were also recovered in and around the taxi.
Miller and Halverson have been detained since their arrest. Their cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch.
The matter was investigated by Warwick Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.