May 11—A federal judge has sentenced a Massachusetts man to 9 1/2 years in prison for robbing a Maine bank. The man also was accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in New Hampshire, prosecutors said.
Brandon Simmons, 35, was sentenced to three years of supervised release for robbing a Bangor Savings branch in York, Maine, on Nov. 1, 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine. Simmons, who pleaded guilty last September, must also pay $7,162 in restitution to the bank.
During the robbery, Simmons told a teller that he had a bomb and demanded money. Simmons grabbed cash from the teller’s drawer and fled in a white work van, prosecutors said, citing court records.
Simmons was also identified as the suspect in the Oct. 30, 2021, robbery of a CVS Pharmacy in Newburyport, Mass., according to prosecutors.
From Nov. 1 through 3 in 2021, Simmons led police on a series of high-speed chases in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
While attempting to avoid apprehension, he assaulted a police officer, attempted to carjack a civilian bystander, stole multiple vehicles and crashed his van into a truck driven by a bystander, prosecutors said.
Simmons was apprehended on Nov. 3, 2021, at a hotel in Peabody, Mass.
On Wednesday, Simmons pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the robbery in Newburyport, Mass., as well as multiple charges related to his conduct while fleeing from police in that state, prosecutors said.