Accused Peabody Bank Robber Who 'Did It For Drugs' Indicted

PEABODY, MA -- A grand jury indicted a man accused of trying to rob a Bank of America branch in Peabody on charges of armed robbery and falsely reporting a bomb threat. When he was arrested last month Leo Willwerth, 31, of Boston, allegedly told police "I did it for drugs" and suggested he was likely facing a 10-year-prison sentence for that and two other bank robberies in Boston over the course of a week.

Willwerth and his girlfriend had been staying at the Plaza Inn on Route One for about a week and were down to their last $30 prior to the June 12 robbery. Willwerth was arrested after State Police used a helicopter to follow a taxi he and his girlfriend were riding in toward Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston, a stretch notorious for its open-air drug trade.

Willwerth's girlfriend, Alexa Anderson, 30, has not been charged. After being arrested he told police he had just finished serving a four-year sentence in New Hampshire for the 2013 robbery. One of the bank tellers told police Willwerth was "shaking like he was on drugs" during the robbery.

Willwerth has a history of robberies, including a New Year's Eve robbery of a TD Bank branch in Seabrook, NH in 2013. In that robbery, the then 27-year-old Wilwerth also threatened to detonate a bomb. In that robbery, according to police reports, Willwerth made off with $860 after handing the teller a note that read "Do not panic, we have a bomb, I got a gun, empty your drawer, no dyepacks, no trackers...safely call the cops when I exit."

Willwerth was also identified as the culprit when police investigating a fraudulent return Willwerth made at a Wal-Mart in Seabrook noticed he was wearing the same clothes in Wal-Mart surveillance footage as the robber from the bank's surveillance footage.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).