Cranston Police Arrest Alleged Bank Robber After Social Media Tips

A 25-year-old New Bedford, Mass., man has been arrested for the Wednesday bank robbery at a Cranston Bank of America branch.

Ailton Vaz, of 305 MIll St., was identified “within hours” of Cranston police releasing still images from security camera video inside the bank at 1000 Park Avenue.

Police learned that Vaz was staying at the Town and Country Motel on Fall River Avenue in Seekonk, Mass., and Vaz was arrested there on Thursday without incident, said Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist Jr.

“The arresting detectives subsequently located fruits of the crime in the motel room including: currency, clothing worn during the robbery, and a notepad containing additional bank robbery notes,” police said in a Friday news release.

Winquist said “the success of this investigation came in large part from the hard work of the collaborating agencies as well as the exposure offered by electronic and social media following the crime. In this case, the power of traditional and social media, along with determined effort of the investigating Detectives, quickly uncovered the identity of the bank robber and enabled this crime to be solved in a very swift and peaceful manner.”

Vaz walked into the bank at around 10:23 a.m. and handed a startled teller a note demanding cash along with a threat that he had a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it.

Vaz is now being held as a fugitive from justice in Massachusetts and will be extradited and arraigned in Third Division District Court in Warwick on first degree robbery charges, Winquist said.