Rt. 18 bank robbery may be
connected to 3 other heists
Man in hooded sweatshirt
tells teller he has a gun
and escapes with cash
EAST BRUNSWICK — The same man believed to be responsible for other recent bank heists in the area may have robbed the Fleet Bank, Route 18 and Arthur Street, Nov. 21, according to East Brunswick police.
Police said that around 12:30 p.m., the suspect, described as a black male, entered the bank, walked up to a teller and gave her a note asking for money. The note also indicated that he had a gun.
"She gave him the money, and he turned and walked out," said Police Sgt. Russell MacArthur.
The teller did not actually see a gun, MacArthur said.
As of earlier this week, police had no suspects, and the department was working with the FBI, which is the lead agency on the case.
MacArthur said the bank’s surveillance camera did get a picture of the man, who was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt.
"The teller could see him, but if you were standing next to him you may not have been able to see his face because of the hood," MacArthur said.
The man was described by the teller as about 5 feet 6 inches tall and in his 30s. He had some facial hair, according to the description.
MacArthur said he could not disclose exactly how much money was stolen, but that it was less than $5,000.
Police in East Brunswick believe the man may be the same person responsible for recent bank robberies in Milltown, Highland Park and North Brunswick.
A similar robbery occurred at the Fleet Bank in Milltown Nov. 8 when a black male described as about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a stocky build made off with $7,300. He allegedly showed a note to a teller that read, "Give me $15,000 or I will shoot you in the face."
The suspect also wore a hooded sweatshirt in the Milltown robbery, and he did not display a weapon.
Milltown police previously said they believe the man was the same person responsible for robbing a Highland Park bank in August and a North Brunswick bank in September.
A PNC Bank on Forsgate Drive in Monroe was also robbed recently, Nov. 8, when two men brandishing semi-automatic handguns forced all eight people in that bank into the vault and took more than $10,000.
MacArthur said he believes the Nov. 21 East Brunswick bank robbery was the first to occur in the township in many years. About seven or eight years ago, he said, a man who claimed to have a bomb robbed a local bank at its drive-through window.

