Machete Bank Robber Suspect Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

COVENTRY, R.I. – The man accused of carrying a machete into the BankRI branch last May and robbing the bank pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday.

John Ryder, 28, of West Warwick, was charged with bank robbery by force, violence and intimidation. He admitted to taking almost $6,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

U.S. Atty. Peter F. Neronha, Coventry Police Chief John S. MacDonald, and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the FBI, made the announcement.

Ryder fled into the woods behind the shopping plaza and was seen later that evening on video surveillance running away and getting into a car, police said. Police later obtained a search warrant for his cell phone, which, they alleged, contained pictures of a person wearing the same clothes and mask as the robber wore.

Ryder was arrested by Coventry Police Detectives and FBI agents, with the assistance of the West Warwick Police Department, on May 13, 2016.

He has been in federal custody and will be sentenced in January.