All four men arrested in connection with the robbery of the Vineyard Haven Rockland Trust nearly two years ago have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston and now await sentencing. 

Romane Andre Clayton, a 22-year-old from New Haven, pleaded guilty on Sept. 12 to one count of aiding and abetting bank robbery, the last suspect to enter a plea. 

The case dates to Nov. 16, 2022, when police say Mr. Clayton, Omar Johnson, Tevin Porter and Miquel Jones were all on Island to plan the robbery. The following day Mr. Porter, Mr. Jones and Mr. Johnson forced their way into the bank on Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road. 

Wearing masks resembling elderly men, one of the alleged robbers pointed a gun to a bank employee’s head, forcing them to open the vault, police said. 

The men took $39,100, bound employees’ hands with duct tape and zip ties, and made off in a vehicle stolen from an employee. 

The U.S. Department of Justice said Mr. Clayton left a second vehicle in a parking lot at the state forest, and rode a bike over to the bank, where he served as lookout during the heist. 

When the men left the bank, they picked up Mr. Clayton and brought him to the second vehicle in the forest. Mr. Porter and Mr. Clayton left the Vineyard aboard a Steamship Authority ferry later in the day, according to police, while Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jones drove to a farm and buried the guns they used during the robbery. 

Police also found burned remnants of the masks used in the robbery. 

Mr. Clayton and Mr. Johnson were arrested in Connecticut, while Mr. Jones was arrested on the Island. Mr. Porter, the last suspect to be arrested, was taken into custody in April 2023 in Connecticut. 

All four defendants agreed to plea deals. Mr. Jones pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 to one count of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery and one count of armed bank robbery and aiding and abetting. Mr. Johnson pleaded guilty to the same charges in May 2023, as did Mr. Porter in September 2023.

Sentencing is expected to start next month in Boston. The Hon. William Young is presiding over the case. Mr. Clayton and Mr. Jones are scheduled to have hearings in December.