A Rhode Island man, previously incarcerated for multiple bank robberies, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison. The decision was announced by Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom. Vaughn Watrous, 48, received a sentence of 108 months from U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose, to be followed by one year of federal supervised release. He was ordered to pay $4,775 in restitution to the victim banks.
Watrous pleaded guilty on April 24, 2024, to robbing three banks in Providence and Cranston, and attempting a fourth robbery in North Providence, all within three days in January 2021.
Court records revealed Watrous's earlier convictions. In 1997, in a U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Utah, he was sentenced to 51 months for bank robbery. He faced subsequent convictions in 2003 and 2015 in Providence, leading to sentences of 76 months and 92 months, respectively.
Assistant United States Attorney Julianne Klein and John P. McAdams prosecuted the recent case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI with support from local police departments in Providence, Cranston, and North Providence.