Charlestown Man Charged With Bank Robberies in Charlestown, Medford
Jason Souza, 29 of Charlestown robbed banks in Medford and Charlestown this week, police said.
An alleged bank robber was spotted by the teller he robbed as they both waited in line at Dunkin' Donuts in Medford Square Wednesday morning, according to a police report. The run-in occurred only two days after the robbery and just down the street from the Member's Plus Credit Union where it occurred.
Jason Souza, 29, of Charlestown, was arrested on a warrant charge of unarmed robbery Thursday, according to court records. Police believe Souza robbed the Members Plus Credit Union in Medford Square Monday and the Sovereign Bank on Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown Tuesday.
In both robberies, Souza allegedly wore a hooded sweatshirt and gloves and gave the tellers a note that demanded money and threatened their lives, according to a report written by bank robbery task force officer John Oliveira.
Souza allegedly made off with $2,055 in the Medford robbery and $500 in Charlestown. Souza allegedly used a grey minivan that was stolen from the parking lot of Tedeschi's Convenience Store in Medford Monday night. The van was recovered shortly after the robbery.
Surveillance images from the robberies and descriptions from witnesses had already led police to suspect Souza before the coffee-shop sighting Wednesday, according to the report. The FBI Bank Robbery Joint Task Force and Medford Police were staking out a home at 23 Cedar Street in Medford, where they believed Souza lived, when they received a report from Medford police headquarters that the teller who was passed the note in the Medford robbery spotted the suspect, the report said.
The teller had stopped at Dunkin' Donuts on Riverside Avenue about 7:30 a.m. on her way to work at the Member's Plus Credit Union, the report said. As she waited in line she glanced behind her and spotted a familiar face -- the man who passed her the demand note two days earlier, the report said.
"He immediately placed his head down and would not make eye contact with her," Oliveira wrote.
Investigators reviewed the video surveillance from Dunkin' Donuts, which showed a man wearing a baseball cap, a black hooded sweatshirt and track pants, the report said.
Shortly after the spotting at Dunkin' Donuts, Oliveira received a call from Boston police Detective John Boyle, who said he had reviewed surveillance from the robbery in Charlestown and could identify the suspect as Souza, who was known to him, Oliveira's report said.
Souza was arrested about 11:30 a.m. Thursday at an undisclosed location, according to police records. He was arraigned in Somerville District Court Friday morning, where Judge Maurice Flynn set bail at $15,000 cash, $150,000 surety bond. He is expected to appear in court next on June 5 for a hearing.
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Joseph
3:26 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
Jay Jay looks so sad...
Kay
11:42 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Sad. Believe it or not but he is a nice guy. Very family oriented and would do anything for his family. Just sad how caught up you get. He admitted to everything he did and said he understands what he did was wrong and knows he has to pay for the consequences.
KYNADEESMOM
6:17 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
I AGREE KAY SWEETEST KID WHO LOVES HIS DAUGHTER, THIS ECONOMY IS MAKING PEOPLE DO CRAZY THINGS. MY HEART BREAKS FOR HIM HIS BEAUTIFUL LITTLE DAUGHTER AND HIS GRAND MOTHER..
Seamus O'Sullivan
6:34 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
Natural selection at its finest....
julie
12:56 pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
It is sad & your right, it is making people do crazy things. My heart breaks for him & his daughter. I know he's a good Dad & would do anything for his lil girl. Keep your head up Jay & Kaitlin, take care of that beautiful lil Gril
Salt N Pepa
9:07 am on Thursday, May 24, 2012
The economy?!?! How about heroin makes people do crazy things. Let's keep it real here girls!!
julie
1:07 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Sorry if I got a lil more respect than to put the kids shit on blast on the internet
Owen
9:25 pm on Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Well put, Julie. A little tact and respect goes a long way. These days it's hard to find people who don't immediately judge like they're the be all and end all of goodness.
Salt N Pepa
1:32 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Respect that's hysterical. Really, it is.....
Cristelle
6:02 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
So sad...
julie
7:20 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Yes, respect!! Maybe you have none , but that isn't for me to judge. Sameway it ain't for you to judge what he did. You don't know why, you assume you do. I've known the kid forever & even I won't sit here & speculate why.
Joseph
9:47 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
"gave the tellers a note that demanded money and threatened their lives"
Respect? You're funny Julie.
Jay K.
9:54 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Yes, Joseph. Respect. You should try it. It feels good.
Joseph
10:10 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Sorry, hard to respect someone that robs banks and threatens someone's life. You respect that? Really? Interesting.
Jay K.
11:15 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Having respect for a person and his family is not the same thing as having respect for an action, Joseph.
Joseph
11:54 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
So you're saying you respect a person no matter their actions? Very interesting, Jay.
julie
2:32 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
I have respect for him, his family & his lil girl. I don't condone what he did, but what a person does in times of desperation, is not always what their actually like when you take that out of the equation
julie
2:35 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
& Joseph I never said what he did was Respectful, but yes I have respect for him as a person, so what exactly does that have to do with his note?? Really though??
Joseph
3:00 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
You keep talking about respect. I countered that he showed no respect when he is threatening someone's life. Hard to respect anyone who doesn't a) respect others, and b)respect themselves. Hopefully he gets the help he needs and turns into the father you claim he truly is. That's all. G'day.
Kay
10:31 pm on Thursday, October 25, 2012
I am one of his family members and i know that I don't excuse what he did. HOWEVER drugs are a powerful thing but let's not act like he is the first and only person to do this. He still is a great person and loving and caring. Yeah what he did was unacceptable but he's paying the price for it now. People do what they gotta do in this world.
Kay
10:33 pm on Thursday, October 25, 2012
I would also like to point out that yes he threatened someone's life however there weren't any weapons in his hands at the tellers window. In my eyes it was just an empty threat.
fraser
3:33 am on Monday, December 24, 2012
Funny crime is crime whatever it is, wrong on every level. But to be honest its not as bad as what others do.......
He will get sentanced and hopefully turn his life around.
Just a person!
10:03 am on Monday, December 24, 2012
Merry Christmas Jason,
Hope you enjoy your present of the steel bars..
I RESPECT your choice to rob not one,but two places and threaten two people's lives in the process that they will probaly never forget their Christmas of 2012, thanks to you.
And also your own family, that you will not be with, because of your thoughtfullness,
May God forgive you on this holiday!
Velvet Jones
4:24 pm on Monday, December 24, 2012
Jason two words : armored cars.
Brian Morrison
9:00 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
two words....the town
dawn pyne
2:27 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
here you are again running your mouth velvet.do you not have anything better to do but to sit behind a computer and talk crap.armored cars?are you serious.Drugs are a powerful thing and they make people do things that they never would do other wise.and yes most addicts are great people who do things in the name of addiction.He didnt hurt no one and all the money is insured.
Brian Morrison
5:06 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
well dawn if by saying armored cars she's talk crap.....then idk if u understand talk crap. I'd say thats talk joke