BOSTON – A Jamaica Plain man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a May 2022 robbery of a TD Bank in Cambridge.
Jalonni Shabazz, a/k/a “Jalonni Tucker,” 41, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. Shabazz was charged by criminal complaint in July 2022 and was subsequently indicted in October 2022. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Nov. 16, 2023.
On May 2, 2022, at approximately 12:49 p.m., a suspect wearing a royal blue baseball hat, gray short-sleeved T-shirt, a camouflage pattern garment around his neck, and medical mask entered the TD Bank on Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. The suspect handed the teller a note that read, “All of the Money – No Dye packs – or alarms,” and then told the teller, “This is a robbery honey.” The teller complied with the suspect’s demands and gave cash to the suspect. The man then fled on foot after taking $2,200 cash from the teller.
During a search of the area surrounding the bank, investigators located a royal blue baseball hat consistent with that worn by the suspect during the robbery. DNA obtained from the hat belonged to Shabazz. In addition, analysis of the bank’s surveillance footage and the defendant’s Facebook account identified Shabazz’s features – including his tattoo, hair and an article of clothing – to be consistent with that of the robbery suspect.
At the time of the robbery, Shabazz was on supervised release following a 2017 federal conviction for two bank robberies for which he was sentenced to 54 months in prison.
The charge of bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Christopher DiMenna, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division; Massachusetts State Police Interim Colonel John E. Mawn, Jr.; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and MBTA Transit Police Chief Kenneth Green made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
