Vermont Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Prison for Eight Bank and Other Robberies

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Matthew T. Martin, 32, of Weathersfield, Vermont, was sentenced today to a prison term of fifteen years, followed by five years of supervised release, and $25,514 in restitution. United States District Court Judge J. Gavin Murtha imposed the sentence in District Court in Brattleboro and noted that he rarely sees sentences of this length but that the circumstances of this case warranted such a result.

Martin had previously pleaded guilty to a Superseding Information that consolidated eight separate robberies into a single case. He was sentenced today on each of the robberies to eight separate prison terms of 180 months, each to run concurrently.

As charged in the Superseding Information, on January 28, 2015, Martin robbed a branch of the Windsor County South Credit Union in Springfield Vermont. During the commission of this robbery, Martin indicated to the teller that he had a gun, although he did not display a firearm. Martin stole $2,596 from the Credit Union in this incident.

On February 7, 2015, Martin robbed a Shell gas station in Ludlow, Vermont. During the commission of this robbery, Martin pointed a firearm at the gas station clerk and made off with approximately $200.

On February 17, 2015, Martin robbed a branch of the Citizens Bank in Springfield, Vermont. During the commission of this robbery, Martin again indicated that he had a gun, although he did not display a firearm. During this incident, Martin wore a fake beard to disguise his identity and managed to steal $5,744 from the bank.

On November 11, 2015, Martin robbed the Greater Falls Pharmacy in Bellows Falls, Vermont, pocketing tablets containing Oxycodone and OxyContin. Again, Martin indicated that he had a gun, although he did not display one.

On December 1, 2015, Martin took his crime spree into New Hampshire, committing an armed robbery of a branch of the Mascoma Savings Bank in Charlestown, New Hampshire. During this robbery, Martin displayed a BB gun that resembled a firearm and twice pointed the weapon at the teller. Martin was able to steal $4,700 during this incident.

On December 4, 2015, Martin committed an armed robbery at a branch of the TD Bank North in Loudon, New Hampshire. Again, Martin displayed a BB gun that resembled a firearm. Martin made off with $3,200 as proceeds of this robbery.

On December 14, 2015, Martin committed an armed robbery of a branch of the People’s United Bank in Brattleboro, Vermont. In instructing the teller to give him all of the money in the cash drawer, Martin brandished a BB gun that resembled a firearm and showed the teller a clay “glob” embedded with a cell phone connected to the clay via black wires that he claimed was a bomb. Martin made off with $3,791 from the bank. During this bank robbery, Martin was disguised as a woman.

A week later, on December 21, 2015, Martin committed an armed robbery of a branch of the Heritage Family Credit Union in Ludlow, Vermont. Again, Martin was armed with a BB gun that resembled a firearm, which he pointed at two tellers and a customer. Martin made off with $4,633 as a result.

In late December 2015, Martin surrendered to law enforcement after the U.S. Marshals Service publicly named him a “Fugitive of the Week.”

The collaborative team that investigated the crimes committed by Martin included federal, state, and local law enforcement agents, including agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Vermont State Police; the New Hampshire State Police; and the police departments of Brattleboro, Springfield, Ludlow, and Bellows Falls.

In addition to the agents that investigated Martin’s crimes, United States Attorney Eric Miller also thanked law enforcement partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Hampshire; the Windsor County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Windham County State’s Attorney’s Office; the County Attorney’s Office in Sullivan County, New Hampshire; and the County Attorney’s Office in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, for their cooperation and collaboration.

The United States was represented in this matter by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kunal Pasricha and Abigail Averbach. Matthew Martin was represented by attorney Jordana Levine.