An Edgartown man who police said drove the getaway car in last week's armed robbery of a Rockland Trust bank branch was arraigned Monday morning in Edgartown District Court.</p>
An Edgartown man who police said drove the getaway car in last week’s armed robbery of a Rockland Trust bank branch was arraigned Monday morning in Edgartown District Court.
Miquel A. Jones, 30, of Edgartown was arrested Friday and charged as an accessory after the fact in Thursday’s holdup of the Vineyard Haven bank. The Hon. Benjamin Barnes set bail at $300,000, with conditions of release to include GPS monitoring and an 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew. Mr. Jones pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The robbery occurred about 8:15 a.m. Thursday when three masked individuals brandishing semi-automatic handguns entered the Rockland Trust bank off the Vineyard Haven-Edgartown Road, ambushing bank employees as they opened the branch, according to police.
The robbers bound bank personnel with duct tape and plastic restraints before stealing an undisclosed sum of money and fleeing in a motor vehicle that belonged to one of the bank employees, police said. The car was found abandoned a short time later, at about 8:29 a.m., in a parking lot near the Manuel F. Correllus state forest off Barnes Road.
Police said they located duct tape and “pieces of green shrub-like vegetation” inside the abandoned stolen vehicle.
Bank staff were not physically injured during the robbery.
On Monday, Cape and Islands assistant district attorney Michael Giardino provided further detail on the theft and subsequent investigation, describing the sequence of events that led to Monday’s arraignment.
Mr. Giardino said that almost immediately after the stolen vehicle was abandoned near the state forest, a dark blue Hyundai Elantra with a missing driver’s side read tire hubcap left the parking lot.
“Through investigative measures, which included speaking to witnesses and observing surveillance video from multiple sources, it was determined that the 2007 Hyundai Elantra was likely involved in the robbery,” Mr. Giardino said in court Monday.
Police later stopped a vehicle that fit the description on Friday, Nov. 18, Mr. Giardino said. Mr. Jones was driving the car and agreed to speak with police, prosecutors said. Mr. Jones admitted to being in possession of the Hyundai for “five weeks” and in the parking lot where the stolen vehicle was abandoned at about 8:20 a.m., prosecutors said.
Police also said they observed other clues that led to Mr. Jones’s arrest in connection with the robbery.
“Jones was evasive throughout the course of questioning,” Mr. Giardino said. “While speaking to Jones, investigators observed a green, vegetation-like substance, which appeared similar to material located in the abandoned employee/victim’s vehicle, on his shoes.”
During a search warrant of the Hyundai, investigators also found three one-hundred dollar bills, two of which displayed sequential serial numbers, prosecutors said, as well as a pair of white Nike sneakers and dark clothing, consistent with what witnesses and surveillance video showed the robbers had worn, Mr. Giardino said.
Police said that one-hundred dollar bills were among the currencies stolen in the heist.
“Based on the evidence that we have now, there is probable cause at least to show that Mr. Jones was involved in the aftermath of the robbery and assisted with the getaway,” Mr. Giardino said.
State police trooper Dustin Shaw compiled the police report and was the arresting officer in the case, according to court documents.
In court Monday, defense attorney Casey Dobel, who represented Mr. Jones, said that Mr. Jones worked as a landscaper and had been coming to Martha’s Vineyard since 2016. She said he previously played on the Jamaican national soccer team.
“This is not somebody who would, in any way, shape or form, be a danger to community. And at the time, there are no allegations that he did anything except possibly help some people after the fact. There’s no allegations that he was present at Rockland trust on the morning of Nov. 17.”
Mr. Giardino said Mr. Jones was a Jamaican citizen and that his time in the country was set to end in March. He said that there could be further charges for Mr. Jones in the case, and that the police investigation for other suspects remained ongoing.
“Police are making efforts to continue to identify and locate the other people involved as perpetrators,” Mr. Giardino said.
A probable cause hearing in Mr. Jones’s case was set for Dec. 16.

Comments
If Miquel A. Jones wants to
Carlos Degotta Vineyard HavenIf Miquel A. Jones wants to go home any time soon he must turn states evidence and tell all and be in court to turn on his brothers of crime and attest to his own part in this heinous crime.
"This is not somebody who
Common Sense"This is not somebody who would, in any way, shape or form, be a danger to community." really Ms.Dobel???? What did you expect should have happened before you would consider this individual a danger to the community? What a shame! Have you no empathy for the terror the bank employees and the island com unity went through?
Everyone is entitled to a
Beasgranddaughter West TisburyEveryone is entitled to a public defender. Regardless of how Ms. Dobel feels about the situation and the community she lives in she still needs to represent her client.
Bravo Beasgranddaughter!
Louise Sesrle Vineyard HavenBravo Beasgranddaughter! Thank you for saying that...
I'm glad you felt the same
Mike EarthI'm glad you felt the same way I did. I read that and was like WTH
If all he did was drive the
Carol formerly ChilmarkIf all he did was drive the getaway car, he wasn't present at the robbery. He doesn't sound scary to me. Sounds like the scary ones got away.
Innocent until proven guilty
uncommon senseInnocent until proven guilty
Agree, wow, how would you
Marie EdgartownAgree, wow, how would you like to be tied up, etc. How awful and frightening. I was surprised that there was no stay of action for a bank robbery. I hope going forward that we will execute a plan of action for robberies. It brings to mind the action our country went to when the world trade towers were hit. I know it’s a different scale but we need to coordinate with the ferries, airport, institute road blocks. I guess it’s time to lock all our doors.
Last I checked, in this
D OBLast I checked, in this country everyone is entitled to a vigorous and competent defense. And Ms Dobel is doing that - kudos to her!
I can think of several cases where he is guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Remember, the bank robbers were "armed and dangerous"? And he's a landscaper and an athlete? OK, a landscaper would probably have green vegetation marks on his shoes from work, right? And perhaps he was out running in the forest before work and was either forced at gunpoint or duped / asked (and paid) into giving the actual robbers a ride to the 930 ferry, before an alarm could be given, and boarding passengers checked. And they just walked on - with or without their dark clothing - lotsa island workers have dark clothing, too - and the masks (and money) hidden in their luggage. Poof, they're gone.
Really, right now, all the publicized evidence shows now is a POSSIBLE link to the actual robbers, not necessarily a willing accomplice.
I appreciate the trauma the bank employees went through, but so far, there is no evidence that HE did, or might do, that. So, I don't see him as a threat, but I do think the police want him around for a bit, altho' $300K seems a bit high for that. Not that my opinion is worth much.
Common Sense you should be
Know Your RightsCommon Sense you should be ashamed of yourself for targeting the public defender who is doing their job providing a vigorous defense for the accused, and by extension protecting your civil right to a fair trial. SMDH. Read a civics book.
If this comment gets printed,
Islander MVIf this comment gets printed, I would like to say that one reaction I had is that you can, in a domestic violence case, beat a woman up to within an inch of her life and endanger families, and you will get arrested and be set right back out onto Main St. Edgartown with a bail of at the very most 5-10,000 dollars, not speak of child pornographers, like the case of the OB man several years ago. Be accused of being an accomplice, after the fact, to a robbery for MONEY, and it’s gonna take 300K. The justice system on this island is broken. The judges, who come from the Cape, do not understand.
It is also worth asking how much or little the mail may have been if the accused was 1.) white and 2.) a “local” with family roots, etc.
Now, all this said for people to chew on, it’s a rotten crime if true, and the law should be applied fairly.
(this comment is corrected of bad typos)
Totally disagree with
Lawrence NY for summerTotally disagree with EVERYTHING you said as 1) Robbing a bank is a Federal offense and 2) said subject is a foreign national.
You did not appear to consider that in your opinion.
Great job to all the law
Paolo Pevidor VHGreat job to all the law enforcement officers involved!
Amen great job by law
George Stein OBAmen great job by law enforcement. As usual the court system lacks integrity for the victims on the Island.
Well, I am surprised that
Oak Bluffs Grandma Oak BluffsWell, I am surprised that they caught someone so kudos to the officers for this arrest. It's too bad he got mixed up in this but it's a crime and he likely knows more.
This was a pretty lame bank
C ommon sense is not so common!This was a pretty lame bank robbery. The work of amateurs. Just where were these guys planning to " Getaway" to in their Getaway car?? This should help the island community to be able to relax feel safe and trust that the truth will come out. The Vineyard continues to be one of the safest places to live in America.
To the person who thinks
Wake Up Call Mainland ThankfullyTo the person who thinks being the getaway driver in a bank robber isn’t “scary” enough, all I can say is “wow.” Every person involved in a bank robbery, no matter their role, is equally responsible for the crime. The naïveté on this board is astounding.
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