Pittsfield Credit Union Robbery Suspect Nabbed in Boston

Updated Friday, April 6, 2012 at 2:54 p.m.:
Brenda Santos had a not guilty plea Friday morning in Central Berkshire District Court on a single count unarmed robbery. Santos is being accused of robbing Greylock Federal Credit Union on March 30.

Judge Rita Koenigs ordered that Santos be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $250,000 cash or $2.5 million surety bail. Santos is scheduled to return to court on May 4.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield Police said a woman suspected in Friday's robbery of the Greylock Federal Credit Union was arrested Wednesday in Boston after her companions were reported for suspicious activity.

Brenda Santos, 22, and her alleged accomplice in the Greylock robbery, Brandon Wood, 31, were arraigned Wednesday in Brookline District Court.

Both are described as being homeless in Boston but Wood is believed to be from the Pittsfield area.

Santos is being charged with unarmed robbery of the Greylock branch on Elm Street. Wood is charged with being an accessory before the fact and accessory after the fact of the Greylock robbery.

Santos, Wood and William Curtin, 26, of Dedham, are also facing conspiracy charges, according to the Boston Globe, regarding suspicious activity at two Boston area banks on Wednesday.

The Globe reports that a man wearing a hooded sweat shirt, sunglasses and hat left the Brookline Bank on Beacon Street after being asked to remove his glasses but met with an individual dressed in similar fashion outside. Another Beacon Street bank reported later in the day that a man of the same description was acting suspicious.

Police tracked the suspects to a hotel and found evidence of the Pittsfield robbery. Santos was arrested at the same time.

The Boston office of the FBI violent crimes task force and the Brookline Police Department are cooperating in the investigation.