7-Year Prison Term Sought For Man Convicted In Foxboro PD Chase

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for a man who admitted to robbing five banks and leading police on a high-speed chase from Foxborough to Attleboro.

Charles Wheeler, 50, of Weymouth, is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court on Oct. 27 after pleading guilty to five counts of bank robbery. His attorney is seeking a less sentence of five-and-a-half years, according to court documents.

According to federal prosecutors, Wheeler and his accomplice, Dong Lee, 50, of Providence, robbed banks in Andover, Boston, Braintree, Avon and Brockton over a one-week span in September 2018.

Prosecutors said both Lee and Wheeler were arrested Sept. 14, 2018 after leading Massachusetts State Police on a high speed chase from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough to Interstate 95 in North Attleboro. Officers were able to catch the suspects after Wheeler crashed near the Toner Boulevard exit.

Prosecutors said Wheeler ran away and stole a car left running at a pump at the Tri-Boro Gulf gas station. He was stopped by police on Route 1 In Attleboro near the Pawtucket border.

Along with the seven-year prison term, prosecutors said they are seeking three years of probation for Wheeler following his release. In the sentencing memorandum, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Shine wrote that Wheeler's actions cannot be treated lightly, and he has a lengthy criminal record dating back to when he was a teenager.

Wheeler's attorney Mark Shea recommended two years of probation to go along with the lighter prison sentence he proposed. Shea cited Wheeler's troubled childhood and struggles with drug and alcohol addition. In the sentencing memorandum, Shea wrote Wheeler's drug habit was the driving force behind the bank robberies.

The maximum sentence for Wheeler's crimes is 20 years.