Minister pleads guilty to bank robbery spree

BOSTON – A minister from Maine pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a three-state spree of bank robberies earlier this year in which he told tellers he had a gun and made off with a total of more than $13,000.

Jerry Hayes, 52, of Hartford was arrested on May 14 after robbing a bank in Haverhill, Mass. He was laundering the proceeds of the robberies through an account in the name of the Shema First Apostolic Assembly in Canton, the FBI said. He used money from the account to buy a handgun found in his car at the time of his arrest, authorities said.

Hayes started his spree of five robberies on March 31, when he entered a Windham bank and handed a note to a teller in which he said he had a gun and warned her not to set off any alarms, federal prosecutors said. Hayes made off with almost $2,000 in that robbery, authorities said.

He then robbed a Portsmouth, N.H., bank on April 8, making off with nearly $3,000, prosecutors said. Just two days later, Hayes walked into a Danvers bank, handed a teller a note saying he was armed, and made off with more than $4,200, authorities said. The spree continued on May 2, when Hayes entered a Quincy bank, handed a teller a note warning he had a gun, and made off with $1,650, authorities said. He was finally arrested after robbing the Haverhill bank and making off with $2,250. Hayes is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 5. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each robbery.