2012 Bank Robber Gets Even More Jail Time

An East Boston man already serving jail time for charges related to a 2012 bank heist, high-speed chase, and shootout with police received an additional 10 to 12 years for armed carjacking on Friday, Feb. 27, according to a statement from authorities.

The supposed rampager, 51-year-old Gabriel Megna, pled guilty to forcing a woman and her infant child out of a car at gunpoint on March 23, 2012. On June 17, 2014, he was condemned to life in prison, with 25 to 30 years concurrent and another five after that.

As Patch covered at the time, the armed bank robbery and ensuing mayhem began when Megna, East Boston’s William Eekasala, and Winthrop’s Michael Ginnietti robbed the Saugus Bank for $4900 and sped away to Malden while being chased by police. After the trio abandoned their car in a Broadway condominium parking lot, they tried to escape on foot, and Ginnietti was promptly apprehended, says the statements from the courts.

Eekasala and Megna prolonged the chase by forcing a woman and her baby out of a nearby vehicle with threats of mortal violence. Unfortunately for them, according to authorities, the car was a stick shift. Megna only knew how to drive automatic transmission, rending the vehicle useless as a getaway car. Megna once again tried to run away, but police found him hours later hiding underneath a stairwell in the condominium complex.

The evening wasn’t over for Eekasala, who opened fire at Malden police. A firefight ensued. After two more failed attempts to escape via carjackings, Eekasala was fatally wounded.