A 54-year-old man was held on $750,000 cash bail on charges that he robbed a Beacon Hill bank Thursday after allegedly telling authorities that he held the same bank up on two prior occasions, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley s
Patrick Cannon of Boston was charged with masked and armed robbery for his alleged role in Thursday’s heist from the Cambridge Trust Company at 65 Beacon St. Assistant District Attorney Ryan Mingo stated at the Boston Municipal Court later that day that there is a federal detainer for Cannon, who was out on parole for a prior armed bank robbery conviction when he committed the most recent offense.
Mingo told the court that at about 5 p.m., Boston Police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the bank. Witnesses told officers that the suspect – later identified as Cannon – fled the scene in a black Cadillac Escalade with Massachusetts license plates and were able to provide them with plate numbers. Officers determined later that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Boston on Aug. 16. Bank employees told officers that Cannon was wearing what looked like a white graduation-type gown and a mask over his face. He allegedly pointed a gun at the victims and stated, “Give me $50s and $100s. Hurry up. Don’t move, I’ll shoot you.”
After fleeing with an undetermined amount of cash, police officers together with assistance from the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force were able to track the Escalade to the corner of Berkeley and Marlborough streets, where it was parked at a hydrant. Following the GPS tracking device that had been slipped into the bag with the money, authorities discovered a second vehicle parked in a garage at 47 Symphony Road. In plain view, Mingo said, officials observed clothing in the vehicle that was consistent with the suspect’s clothing as described by witnesses. They also noticed that the car was unlocked and the locking mechanism on the trunk was damaged. Both cars were towed and impounded.In the second vehicle – a Plymouth Breeze – officers subsequently discovered $1,400 in cash, the GPS tracking device and a cell phone, as well as the clothing that the defendant allegedly wore during the robbery.
FBI agents, together with police, reviewed surveillance videos from both the bank and the parking garage, and were able to ascertain the defendant’s identity. During the course of the investigation, they determined that the defendant had checked into the Colonnade Hotel using his real name on Aug. 16. He returned to the hotel shortly after the robbery and paid his $400 hotel bill in cash, Mingo told the court.
After determining his identity, officers were alerted that Cannon had returned to the garage looking for his vehicle, and upon realizing that it wasn’t there, he quickly exited the rear of the garage. Security officers followed Cannon on foot down Edgerly Road, but lost him in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street. Security officers were able to provide agents with a description of his clothing. At about 11 p.m., two Safe Street Team officers observed a man matching the description of the suspect in the area of Yawkey Way and Van Ness Street. The officers stopped him, determined that he was Cannon and placed him under arrest. During the booking process, a quantity of cash in the amount of $2,901 was found in his backpack and a parking receipt for the garage that was time-stamped on Aug. 17.
In a post-Miranda interview with police, Cannon allegedly admitted to the Cambridge Trust Bank robbery, as well as to two other bank robberies at the same location. The Cambridge Trust Company location on Beacon Street was also robbed on June 2 and May 14.
Cannon, who is represented by attorney John Russell, is expected to return to court on Sept. 16.