An Everett man was sentenced last month in federal court in Boston for armed bank robbery and firearms offenses.
Joseph G. Rachal, 65, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 101 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On April 27, 2017, Rachal was convicted by a federal jury of armed bank robbery, using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, and being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
On Nov. 19, 2015, Rachal entered a branch of the TD Bank, in Brighton, removed a black semi-automatic handgun, pointed it at the tellers and ordered them to turn over cash from the drawers. Rachal exited the bank with $2,397. When law enforcement arrived minutes later, they observed Rachal hiding behind a parked SUV one block from the bank. When the officers approached the vehicle and identified themselves as police, Rachal ran away carrying a black nylon bag. When officers caught Rachal, they searched his bag and found an active scanner tuned to a Boston Police radio frequency, a 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol with one chambered round and a magazine containing 14 additional rounds, an additional magazine containing 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and $2,397.
Bank surveillance cameras captured images of the robbery, and the items recovered from the bag Rachal was carrying were consistent with the items observed on the video.
The investigation was conducted with the assistance of the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.