Crime & Safety

"Bearded Bandit' Sentenced to 6 Years In Prison for Robbing 9 Banks

Banks in East Providence and Barrington were among those robbed by Justin Worley, who was captured by E.P. and Seekonk police.

The “bearded bandit” was sentenced to 73 months in federal prison today, July 26, for robbing nine banks in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Justin Worley, 34, whose robberies included banks in Barrington and East Providence, became known as the “bearded bandit” because he always wore the same disguise. 

Worley received the high end of the sentencing guideline, said U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha. At sentencing in U.S. District Court in Providence, Worley also was ordered by Judge William E. Smith to serve 3 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to make full restitution to the nine banks he admitted to robbing.

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Worley pleaded guilty on March 7 to nine counts of bank robbery.

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At the time of his guilty plea, said Neronha, Worley admitted to the court that he robbed a financial institution in Seekonk, Mass., on February 23, 2012, and that he robbed eight financial institutions in Rhode Island between April 16, 2012 and September 18, 2012.

 

Worley admitted that he used implied or explicit threats when he robbed the banks of a total of $32,633.

 

Worley was arrested at a motel in Seekonk on Sept. 19, 2012, by East Providence and Seekonk police. He has been in prison since his arrest.

 

The robberies were investigated by Barrington, East Providence, Cranston, North Providence, Pawtucket, Seekonk and Warwick Police Departments and the FBI.

 


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