Rhode Island Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery Charges

BOSTON – A Rhode Island man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to five bank robberies, including one that resulted in a high-speed chase.

Dong Lee, 50, pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery before U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns who scheduled sentencing for Feb. 16, 2021. In Oct. 2018, Lee was charged with co-defendant Charles Lamont Wheeler, 46, who pleaded guilty in March 2020. Wheeler’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 14, 2020.

According to the prosecutor at today’s plea hearing, Lee and Wheeler were responsible for the robberies of the Santander Bank in Andover on Sept. 8, 2018; the Berkshire Bank in Boston on Sept. 8, 2018; the Rockland Trust in Braintree on Sept. 12, 2018; the Abington Savings Bank in Avon on Sept. 14, 2018; and Crescent Credit Union in Brockton on Sept. 14, 2018.   Both Lee and Wheeler were arrested following the Sept. 14, 2018 robberies which resulted in a high-speed auto chase by the Massachusetts State Police.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police Department; Avon Police Chief Jeffrey J. Bukunt; Brockton Police Chief Emmanuel Gomes; Attleboro Police Chief Kyle P. Heagney; and North Attleboro Police Chief John J. Reilly made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.