Worcester Men Sentenced for Armed Bank Robbery

BOSTON—Two Worcester men were sentenced today in federal court to over 15 years each for armed bank robbery.

CRAIG SPARKS, 28 and BENJAMIN MICHAUD, 33, both formerly of Worcester, were both sentenced by U.S. District Judge William G. Young to 188 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for the January 4, 2010 armed robbery of the Bank of America branch located at

625 Moody Street, Waltham, Massachusetts

. SPARKS and MICHAUD plead guilty in October 2010.

On January 4, 2010, SPARKS and MICHAUD entered the Bank of America wearing ski masks and armed with what appeared to be handguns, which were later determined to be B-B guns. After ordering customers to the floor, SPARKS and MICHAUD approached two tellers and demanded money. The tellers gave them $10,676 in U.S. currency, and then fled in a stolen vehicle. After switching to another car they were located and pursued by law enforcement officials. They abandoned their car along Route I-95 and fled on foot through a wooded area toward Lexington. MICHAUD was arrested later that day and SPARKS evaded immediate capture but was later arrested on February 5, 2010 near Bangor, Maine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Division; Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Thomas M. Lacroix of the Waltham Police Department; and Chief Mark J. Corr of the Lexington Police Department made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Major Crimes Unit.

A Police and Military Writer

Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books added a writer who has served in both the military and domestic law enforcement.

Robert S. Stering served in the United States Air Force from 1968 to 1972. He enlisted again, in the USAF(R) in 1982. He served as a Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigation; and, was honorably discharged as an E-5 in 1985. In addition to his military service, Robert S. Stering was a police officer for the Waltham Police Department (Massachusetts) for 25 years.

Robert S. Stering has a Masters degree in Criminal Justice and is a certified criminal intelligence analyst. In addition to his writing, Rob Stering is an adjunct professor for several colleges teaching Profiling Serial Offenders, Crime Analysis, Intelligence Analysis, Introduction to Terrorism and other courses. He is also a consultant to the Municipal Police Training Committee (Massachusetts) as the state coordinator for patrol procedures.

His first book, a Police Officer's Handbook “provides you with an understanding of the situations, problems, and conflicts that police officers face daily. This is an indispensable resource for law enforcement students and professionals. The Police Officer's Handbook is divided into two parts. Part One discusses what police officers do and how they accomplish their tasks. It also takes a closer look at the role of the police officer today. Part Two offers you an opportunity to put yourself into the role of the police officer. Through scenarios you will examine some of the day-to-day incidents that police officers face on the street. After reading this text, you will gain practical knowledge and understand how to resolve a variety of conflicts.”

Robert S. Stering’s second book, Imagen: A Serial Killer Leaves Puzzling Clues, is a fictional work that takes the reader inside the mind of both the killer and the victim. According to the book description, “A serial killer is stalking the community. He leaves subtle clues. Or are they? The murders are perfect, the clues and evidence left, break all traditional investigative formalities. The book is unique in the way you interpret the emotions. With a clever switching of tenses, the author allows you the reader to be the victim and the killer. You feel the pain, and emotions of the victim. You experience the excitement, the thoughts and the reasoning of the Killer. Both visions bring you to the point of death. With the author’s experiences and knowledge of the field, the book offers a close-up and front seat realistic view of the investigative process.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 401 police officers (representing 171 police departments) and their 864 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books. Military-Writers.com now lists 20 active, retired and former military personnel who have authored 20 books.