A 27-year-old man charged earlier this year for possession of stolen property on St. John was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday for three bank robberies in the territory in December.
U.S. Attorney James Hurd Jr. accused Matthew John Hall of Camp Springs, Md., of robbing the Chase Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia’s St. Thomas waterfront branches on Dec. 9 and Dec. 13 respectively and the V.I. Community Bank on St. Croix on Dec. 24.
Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted Hall for possession of stolen property and three counts of giving false names to National Park rangers regarding an incident at Cinnamon Bay on St. John on Jan. 13, Hurd said. Tuesday’s eight-count indictment includes the St. John charges so that all the alleged offenses can be handled in a single case.
For the St. Thomas Chase heist, Hall is charged with bank robbery and threatened use of explosives affecting commerce; for the Bank of Nova Scotia holdup he is charged with interference of commerce by robbery; and for the V.I.C.B. stickup, with bank robbery.
Local investigators ran a fingerprint check on Hall after he was arrested on St. John on a charge of possession of stolen goods. They discovered he was wanted by police in Alexandria, Va., in connection with a November carjacking there and other robberies in the area.
Alexandria police told St. Thomas Source that Hall had left Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Nov. 20, headed for St. Thomas.
Bank robbery and interference with commerce by robbery both carry a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Threatened use of explosives affecting commerce carries a maximum 10-year term. The counts involving false allegations carry a maximum 5-year term in prison.
Possession of stolen property, a federal offense because it occurred within the V.I. National Park, carries a maximum 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Hurd credited the V.I. Safe Streets Task Force for the indictment after a four-month investigation. The task force is made up of FBI agents, V.I. police detectives and U.S. marshals. He also commended the National Park rangers who apprehended Hall in the first place.
