Pair Detained in Taxi Getaway Bank Robbery

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island
September 1, 2011

PROVIDENCE, RI—A Providence man and woman were ordered detained Wednesday following initial appearances in federal court on bank robbery charges. Anthony Miller, 24, and Christine Halvorsen, 37, were arrested Tuesday shortly after allegedly robbing a Warwick bank and then fleeing in a taxi.

According to court documents and information presented to the court, Miller and Halvorsen entered the bank and each demanded cash from separate tellers. It is alleged that Miller presented a note to one bank teller demanding cash while Halvorsen verbally made the same demand of a second teller. Bank employees provided police with a description of the taxi in which the pair allegedly fled after leaving the bank.

A Warwick Police sergeant who heard a police radio broadcast of the description of the taxi cab observed a vehicle matching that description stopped in traffic a short time later. As the officer exited his police vehicle and approached the taxi, Miller fled from the taxi but was quickly chased down by the officer and arrested. Halvorsen exited the taxi cab prior to her apprehension.

After arresting the two defendants, officers recovered a large quantity of cash from the roadway in the area of the taxi the two were riding in.

The matter is being investigated by the FBI and Warwick Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.