PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- A Brockton, Mass., man accused of threatening to kill people during a bank robbery early this month was ordered held without bail Tuesday.
James Patterson, 44, was arrested in Brockton a little over a week after the Citizens Bank branch on East Avenue in Pawtucket was robbed on Aug. 7.
On that day, a man with a bandanna over his face strode into the bank and yelled for customers and tellers to get on the floor. Then, with one hand in his pocket, the robber demanded money from the tellers, and threatened to "blow their heads off" if they didn't comply, according to police.
No gun was seen, no shots were fired, and the robber got packets of money. However, a witness got the license plate of the get-away SUV, which belonged to a woman from Peabody, Mass., according to an affidavit by Detective Sgt. Paul Brandley and Detective Donti Rosciti.
After the police found the SUV and had it towed, the owner spoke with detectives and admitted taking Patterson to Pawtucket and letting him out near the bank, the affidavit said.
She told detectives that when Patterson returned, he jumped in the back seat, ducked down and yelled to her to drive, the affidavit said. Then she saw the wrapped bundle of money that he'd brought back, the police said.
Patterson was rendered from Brockton to Rhode Island and arraigned Tuesday at District Court, Providence, on a first-degree robbery charge. He was ordered held without bail.