Chief George M. McNeil
465 County St.,
Somerset, MA 02726
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net
Somerset Police Arrest and Charge Man with Robbing Bank
SOMERSET — Chief George McNeil reports that an arrest has been made after a two-week investigation into a bank robbery that took place in Somerset on July 5.
THOMAS RODRIGUES JR., AGE 31, of DARTMOUTH was charged with one count of Unarmed Robbery. He is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Fall River District Court.
On Friday, July 5, at approximately 12:05 p.m., Somerset Police responded to the St. Michael’s Federal Credit Union, 891 County St., for a report of a bank robbery.
A man, later identified as RODRIGUES, entered the bank and demanded money from a teller. RODRIGUES was unarmed. He subsequently fled from the bank in a Cadillac sedan with an undisclosed amount of money. No one was injured in the incident.
Through the ensuing investigation, Somerset Police detectives were able to determine that RODRIGUES was the man who allegedly robbed the bank.
On Wednesday night, at approximately 6 p.m., a search warrant was executed by Somerset Police detectives at a home on Old Plainville Road in New Bedford, with the assistance of the FBI, Massachusetts State Police and New Bedford Police. RODRIGUES was arrested without incident and was taken to the Somerset Police station to be booked.
In 2011, RODRIGUES was convicted of robbing a bank in Fall River.
Chief McNeil would like to recognize the efforts of Somerset Police Detective Lt. Jason Matos, Detective Sgt. William Tedford, Detective Nicholas Davidson, Detective James Cardella and Officer Michael DeMoranville.
“This was great work by our detective unit who were able to gather evidence at the scene that led to the identification of Mr. Rodrigues as a suspect,” Chief McNeil said. “Thankfully no one was hurt during the incident and we were able to quickly bring this case to a close. I would also like to thank our law enforcement partners who assisted with the investigation.”
These are allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.
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