Alleged Peabody Bank Robber 'Did It For The Drugs'

PEABODY, MA -- The man accused of robbing a Bank of America Branch in Peabody Monday 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. Leo Willwerth, 31, of East Boston, had been staying at the Plaza Inn on Route One for about a week and were down to their last $30 prior to Monday's 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. A not guilty plea was entered on Willwerth's behalf during his arraignment Tuesday, according to the Salem News, which first reported this story. He is due back in court on June 18 for a bail hearing. Police recovered about $1,200 when he was arrested on Monday.

State police are obtaining arrest warrants so he can be arraigned for the Boston bank robberies at a later of date. After being arrested he told police he had just finished serving a four-year sentence in New Hampshire for the 2013 robbery. According to prosecutors at the arraignment, one of the bank tellers told police Willwerth was "shaking like he was on drugs" during the robbery.

>>>For more on this story, see the Salem News.

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