Department of Justice

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on Jan. 29 Malik Pratt, 26, of Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss to 35 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release following his guilty plea to robbing the People’s United Bank branch in Burlington on March 1, 2022. The court also ordered Pratt to pay restitution to the bank for the amount stolen.

According to court records, Burlington Police Department officers were dispatched to the People’s United Bank on North Avenue in Burlington on March 1, 2022, at 10:06 a.m., following reports of a bank robbery. Bank employees stated that the robber threatened to shoot them and demanded cash. After acquiring cash, the robber fled the bank on foot, jumping over a fence near the Ethan Allan Parkway to escape. The bank reported a total of $1,316 in U.S. currency stolen. Within weeks, Burlington detectives and federal agents identified Pratt as the robber. He was charged with bank robbery on March 18, 2022, and pleaded guilty on Oct. 11, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the Burlington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on their collaborative investigation of Pratt.

The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Van de Graaf. Pratt is represented by Richard R. Goldsborough, Esq.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.

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