Local News
A SWAT team arrested Joseph Sawyer, 52, in upstate New York on Wednesday in connection with two bank robberies last month.
Federal agents arrested a 52-year-old Townsend man in connection with two armed bank robberies in New Hampshire and New Jersey last month, the FBI announced Thursday.
Joseph Sawyer is accused of robbing St. Mary’s Bank at 4 Northwest Blvd. in Nashua, New Hampshire, on June 12 and a Chase Bank at 530 Myrtle Ave. in Boonton, New Jersey, on June 27, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire.
FBI investigators say Sawyer entered both banks while allegedly brandishing what appeared to be a black semiautomatic handgun and ordered everyone inside to get on the ground and surrender their cell phones before carrying out the robberies.
Authorities also released security camera images from the robbery showing the suspect wearing a black suit and tie, a mask, a baseball cap, and gloves.
Police said $6,000 was taken in the Nashua robbery, while $12,000 was allegedly stolen in the Boonton robbery.
An FBI SWAT team arrested Sawyer on Wednesday night in Albany, New York, after investigators learned of his whereabouts, federal officials said.
FBI Boston said on X that the arrest was part of Operation Summer Heat 2.0, which officials described as “an initiative to crush violent crime in our communities.”
🔥As part of Operation Summer Heat 2.0, an #FBI initiative to crush violent crime in our communities, #YourFBI has arrested Joseph Sawyer, of Townsend, MA, in connection with two armed bank robberies that occurred in Nashua, NH, on 6/12/26, and in Boonton, NJ, on 6/27/26. Learn… pic.twitter.com/Nlj8XqzUlj
— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) July 9, 2026
The investigation was a multi-state effort involving the FBI’s Boston, Albany, and New Jersey field offices, the Nashua Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the New York State Police, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, and several U.S. attorneys’ offices, authorities said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire is prosecuting the case. Officials did not release details about when Sawyer will be formally charged.
Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.
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