Fall River man who robbed Fall River bank while on probation for armed robbery, sentenced

A 34-year-old Fall River man who robbed a bank in June while on probation for a previous armed robbery conviction was sentenced to serve five to 12 years in state prison yesterday in Fall River Superior Court, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Matthew Pattee pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with unarmed robbery.

On June 18th a man with a hooded sweatshirt over his head, red baseball hat on his head and big reflective sun glasses covering his face walked into the Rockland Trust Bank located on Brayton Avenue in Fall River. The teller asked the man to remove his hood and the man said, “after you give me all the money.” The man was given cash and a dye pack before fleeing from the bank.

Video surveillance shows a short, slim built, man with a hoodie enter a gray Ford Fusion after leaving the bank. The man had a distinctive gold watch and spider web tattoo on his hand. The Ford is registered to the defendant. The height, build, and tattoo were consistent with the defendant. The defendant’s car was secured by Fall River Police and $362 in cash was found covered in red dye from the dye pack in the car. Inside the defendant’s apartment, police located a gold watch, glasses and other items of clothing worn during the robbery, and an additional $430 in cash with dye on the bills.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick Driscoll and the state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Sharon Donatelle.

“The defendant is a repeat offender who continues to commit serious and violent crimes. He is a clear danger to the community and the sentence will protect the public from him,” District Attorney Quinn said.