Fatal robbery may be linked to South Brunswick heist

Law enforcement officials say Readington robbery in which FBI agent was killed may be linked to March heist in Dayton. Three have been charged in connection with both bank jobs, according to CNN.

   Law enforcement officials say a Readington robbery Thursday in which an FBI agent was killed may be linked to a March heist in Dayton.
   A law enforcement official close to the investigation said the suspects in the robbery are the same men being sought in connection with a Dayton bank heist.
   MSNBC and CNN are both reporting that an agent was killed during a shootout at a Readington bank near Route 22. According to the reports, the shootout occured when the agents encountered three robbery suspects as they were leaving the bank. Police arrested two of the men suspects, while a third remains at large, according to the reports.
   CNN is reporting that "Prosecutors filed charges in federal court Thursday night against three people in the attempted robbery. Wilfredo Berrios, 28; Michael Cruz, 21; and Francisco Herrera-Genao, 22, all of New Brunswick, New Jersey, were charged with attempted armed bank robbery and with use and carrying of a firearm during a crime of violence.
   "The charges carry a penalty of 35 years in prison upon conviction, according to a spokesman for federal prosecutors.
   "Berrios and Cruz were in custody Thursday, while Herrera-Genao was still being sought, spokesman Michael Drewniak said in a statement.
   "According to the complaint filed against Berrios, Cruz and Herrera-Genao, authorities noted similarities in the four bank robberies, on February 8, February 16, March 2 and March 16. During those robberies, two people were injured by ricocheting bullets and several people were held at gunpoint, the complaint says."
   A fourth man not present at the Readington robbery has also been charged, according to CNN.
   "Efrain Lynn, 21, … of New Brunswick, was charged in a separate complaint in connection to the March 16 armed robbery of a Bank of America Branch in South Brunswick, New Jersey. According to the federal complaint, Cruz identified him as a gunman behind a ski mask and a trench coat. Lynn was arrested Thursday on a bench warrant unrelated to the bank robberies, Drewniak said. He is charged with armed bank robbery, which carries a penalty of 25 years in prison upon conviction."
   The FBI agent — Barry Lee Bush, 52, who was assigned to the Newark, New Jersey FBI office, "was fatally wounded during a ‘dynamic arrest situation,’ the FBI said," CNN is reporting.
   Law enforcement had been seeking the men in connection with numerous area bank robberies, including the Bank of America branch on Summerfield Boulevard in Dayton, a law enforcement official close to the investigation said. He spoke on the condition that his name not be used because the investigation is ongoing.
   Three men wearing ski masks had entered the Dayton bank on March 16, jumped the counter and demanded cash. One fired a gun into a glass partition and a bullet fragment injured a woman in the bank. A teller was hurt by the flying glass.
   FBI officials could not be reached for comment. State police Sgt. Stephen Jones said 50 troopers were searching in the vicinity of the bank.
   He said state police have been asked to search for a man, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, wearing "possibly one shoe or no shoes," who fled into the woods near Routes 78 and 22 after the robbery. The search area is near the Fox Hollow Golf Club.
   Sgt. Jones said the man is wearing a sweatshirt and is considered armed and dangerous.