Convicted armed robber with a 'big-ass gun' gets nine years for robbing Allston bank, trying to take one customer as a hostage

A federal judge last week sentenced Jamaine Howell, 36, of Everett, to nine years in prison for robbing the TD Bank at Harvard and Commonwealth avenues on Feb. 7, 2021.

Howell, who was on probation at the time for three armed robberies of gas stations, including the then Hess station in Allston, in 2011, pleaded guilty in January to one count of bank robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence.

According to the US Attorney's office in Boston:

Defendant Jamaine Howell robbed the TD Bank in Allston with a .45 caliber Ruger handgun and a note that read, "I have a gun." Howell handed the note to the teller while verbally reiterating the message, stating that he had a gun. Howell also confronted two other customers inside the bank and, after he got the cash from the teller, Howell took one of the bank customers out of the bank with him, telling that customer, "I have a big ass gun." ... Howell then threatened two bank customers and displayed a firearm. After taking the plastic bag - containing approximately $5,900 - from the teller, Howell instructed one of the customers to leave the bank with him. After walking about a block with Howell, the customer managed to flee while Howell was distracted.

Howell was initially arrested in Sharon later that week after he flashed his gun at a hotel there - the same gun used in the bank robbery, prosecutors say. In addition to that gun, police found a loaded semi-automatic shotgun in a car he had rented.

Both prosecution and defense filed sentencing recommendations in the case. The defense memorandum was sealed because it contained information about Howell's medical and mental-health records.