Man sentenced to federal prison for robbing 5 Rhode Island banks

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Providence man who admitted he robbed five banks in Rhode Island within a five-week span in early 2022 was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said Monday.

According to court documents, 24-year-old Dashawn Diaz admitted that on Jan. 12, 13, and 14, 2022, he robbed various bank branches in Providence, Pawtucket, East Providence. In at least one of the robberies, Diaz told a teller, “Hurry! Big bills only,” as he presented a note that read “Armed Robbery.”

Officials said on March 2, 2023, Diaz pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery, admitting that on Jan. 12, 2022, he robbed a Providence branch of Santander Bank of $7,100; on Jan. 13, a Providence branch of Citizens Bank of $2,700; on Jan. 14, a branch of Citizens Bank in Pawtucket of $952; on Feb. 1, a Santander Bank branch in Providence of $2,348; and on Feb. 8, a TD Bank Branch in East Providence of $3,167.

Diaz will spend 30 months in prison, followed by three years of federal supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution to the banks totaling $15,807.

The robberies were investigated by the FBI, and the Providence, Pawtucket and East Providence Police Departments.