Grand Jury Indicts Providence Man on Bank Robbery Charges

PROVIDENCE –  A Providence man previously convicted and incarcerated for robbing a total of seven banks dating back to 1997 was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Providence on charges he allegedly robbed three banks and attempted to rob a fourth in three days beginning on January 19, 2021.

It is alleged in the indictment that Vaughn Watrous, 44, on January 19, robbed a Santander Bank branch office on North Main Street in Providence; on January 20, robbed a Citizens Bank branch office in Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence; and on January 21, attempted to robbed a TD Bank branch office in North Providence on January 21; and on January 21, robbed a Santander Bank branch office in Cranston.

It is alleged that, in each incident, tellers were handed notes demanding cash.

According to court files, Watrous was convicted in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1997 on a charge of bank robbery and sentenced to 51 months in federal prison; in 2003 in U.S. District Court in Providence on two counts of bank robbery and sentenced to 76 months in federal prison; and in October 2015 in federal court in Providence on four counts of bank robbery and sentenced in February 2016 to 92 months in federal prison.

Watrous has been detained at the ACI since his most recent arrest on January 24, 2021, by Providence Police, acting on an arrest warrant issued at the request of the Cranston Police Department for robberies in Cranston and North Providence.

A federal grand jury today returned an indictment charging Vaugh Watrous with three counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus, Cranston Police Chief Colonel Michael J. Winquist, Providence Police Colonel Hugh T. Clements, Jr., North Providence Police Chief Arthur J. Martins, and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division Joseph R. Bonavolonta.

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