A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island to charges related to a series of bank robberies.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Justice, 42-year-old Joseph Hickson pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose to his involvement in the robberies of a TD Bank in Cranston, Rhode Island, and a Washington Trust Bank in East Providence, Rhode Island.
Hickson is due to be sentenced on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. A federal district court judge will determine the punishment after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory criteria.
According to court records, Hickson stole TD Bank on April 28, 2019, and Washington Trust Bank on May 28, 2019. During each robbery, Hickson presented a note to bank tellers saying that he had a gun and requesting specific financial denominations.
The Cranston Police Department, the East Providence Police Department, and the Franklin, Massachusetts, Police Department worked together to identify Hickson as a suspect in the Rhode Island robberies, as well as a robbery at the Digital Federal Credit Union in Franklin, Massachusetts, on May 16, 2019.
Hickson was arrested on May 29, 2019, at a casino in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Hickson admitted to his involvement in the robberies, and subsequent search warrants yielded evidence linking him to the crimes in his car and apartment. Hickson was then prosecuted for bank robbery by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and pleaded guilty, serving a jail sentence in Massachusetts before being returned to Rhode Island to face federal bank robbery charges in this district.
Ronald R. Gendron, assistant US attorney, is prosecuting the case.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cranston Police Department, East Providence Police Department, and Franklin, MA, Police Department all conducted investigations into the case.
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