Sterling Alavache killed in Florida bank robbery

A man with ties to the South Coast of Massachusetts and to Wareham, Sterling Ramon Alavache, was killed by a police sniper in Fort Myers, Florida, during an attempted bank robbery and hostage situation. 

According to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, the FBI and the sheriff's office responded to calls of a bank robbery and hostage situation at a Fort Myers Bank of America on Tuesday, Feb. 6. 

The suspect in the robbery, later identified as Alavache, was armed with a knife and claimed to have a bomb, said Marceon. While the department attempted to negotiate, Alavache put the knife to the throat of one of two hostages, and a SWAT sniper shot and killed him, Marceno said. 

The Lee County Sheriff's Office confirmed Alavache had prior criminal history from Buzzards Bay, Barnstable, Taunton, Bristol County and Plymouth County. 

While the Office could not confirm that Alavache was born in Wareham, it said his Facebook page listed Wareham. 

Alavache's criminal history included drug trafficking, aggravated assault and carrying a concealed firearm, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office. 

An obituary from 2018 lists Sterling Alavache as the surviving husband of Ciara Alavache, formerly of Onset. Wareham Week could not independently confirm this is the same Sterling Alavache.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article mis-stated the date of the incident as Tuesday, Feb. 13. This has been corrected to read Tuesday, Feb. 6.