PORTLAND, Maine — A Massachusetts man was sentenced in a Portland courtroom Thursday in connection with a bank robbery in York in November 2021.
Brandon Simmons, 35, was sentenced to 115 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and has been ordered to pay $7,162 in restitution to Bangor Savings Bank, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine said.
Simmons pleaded guilty to charges on Sept. 27, 2022, the release said.
On Nov. 1, 2021, Simmons entered a Bangor Savings Bank branch in York, where he reportedly told a teller he had a bomb, then demanded money, according to the release.
"Simmons then grabbed cash from the teller’s drawer, left the bank and fled in a white work van," the release said.
Through combined law enforcement efforts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, York Police Department, and other agencies in Massachusetts, Simmons was quickly identified as a suspect, according to the release.
"Simmons was also identified as the suspect in the Oct. 30, 2021, robbery of a CVS Pharmacy in Newburyport, Massachusetts," the release stated.
Following the York bank robbery, Simmons led police on a series of high-speed chases from Nov. 1-3, 2021, across areas of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, officials said.
"In his attempts 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," the release said Thursday. 'Simmons was apprehended by Massachusetts State Police on Nov. 3, 2021, at a hotel in Peabody, Massachusetts."
Officials said Simmons pleaded guilty May 10, 2023, to Commonwealth of Massachusetts charges in connection with the Newburyport robbery, in addition to multiple other charges related to his conduct while he was fleeing from law enforcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, York Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, and Newbury and Salisbury police departments.