A 52-year-old man from Townsend was arrested Wednesday night after federal agents say he carried out two armed bank robberies last month, including one at a Nashua institution where investigators allege he demanded cell phones and stole cash.
FBI says surveillance and plate readers linked the incidents
The FBI’s Boston office, working with Nashua police, said agents located Joseph Sawyer in upstate New York and the arrest was carried out by FBI Albany’s SWAT team. Authorities allege Sawyer committed robberies at St. Mary’s Bank in Nashua on June 12 and at a Chase Bank branch in Boonton, New Jersey on June 27.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in New Hampshire, prosecutors say the suspect displayed what appeared to be a black semiautomatic handgun during both robberies, ordered people inside to get on the ground, and demanded they hand over their cell phones before taking cash.
| Date | Location | Alleged take |
|---|---|---|
| June 12, 2026 | St. Mary’s Bank, Nashua, NH | $6,000 |
| June 27, 2026 | Chase Bank, Boonton, NJ | Not specified in complaint |
Investigators say the Nashua robbery involved a getaway in a Honda minivan. A shopping bag containing the bank manager’s phone was reportedly discarded in a nearby parking lot. Court filings indicate surveillance images and license plate reader records helped link the two robberies.
- Authorities say the minivan used during the New Jersey robbery was driven with stolen New Jersey plates.
- Those plates were later replaced with Massachusetts plates registered to Sawyer’s late father, investigators allege.
- Sawyer has been charged in federal court in New Hampshire with one count of bank robbery.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire is prosecuting the case. It was not immediately clear whether Sawyer has retained an attorney.
For residents in Nashua and neighboring communities, the arrests close a brief but unsettling chapter: two armed holdups that crossed state lines and drew a federal response. The FBI and local police continue to investigate and have not released additional details about any other possible suspects or charges.
