One person has been arrested in connection with the armed robbery of the Rockland Trust bank in Vineyard Haven that took place Thursday morning and resulted in an intensive search and investigation.
In an email to the Gazette Saturday evening, Cape and Islands district attorney spokesperson Tara Miltimore confirmed an arrest had been made in relation to the robbery.
“There has been an arrest of one individual in connection with the robbery of the Rockland Trust bank,” she wrote. “The investigation is ongoing and active.”
Ms. Miltimore did not confirm the time or location of the arrest, nor did she divulge the arresting authority.
The robbery took place Thursday morning just after 8 a.m. Three armed suspects entered the Rockland Trust Vineyard Haven branch, tying up bank employees and fleeing the scene in a vehicle that belonged to a bank teller, police told the Gazette at the scene. Police said the suspects wore masks and gloves, and were armed with handguns.
No one at the bank was hurt during the robbery, Rockland Trust spokesperson Emily McDonald told the Gazette.
“There were no injuries and everyone is safe,” she wrote in an email Friday.
The robbery sparked a manhunt, with local, state and federal officials swarming the Island. The canine unit was also brought in but the robbers remained at large into Saturday.
Manhunt included a search of the state forest.
— Ray Ewing
On Thursday evening police surrounded a Holiday Inn in Falmouth but later confirmed their investigation at the hotel did not turn up any leads connected to the robbery.
The robbery closed most banks on Martha’s Vineyard Thursday, and led to Island-wide school lockdowns and an early dismissal. While the Vineyard Haven branch remains closed, all other Rockland Trust locations on Island reopened alongside other Island banks Friday morning.
