Arrest made in bank heist

Dayton robbery likely linked to fatal shooting.

By: Paul Koepp
   A New Brunswick man was arraigned in federal court in Newark on Monday, charged with the armed robbery of the Bank of America on Summerfield Boulevard in Dayton last month.
   The man, Efrain Lynn, was allegedly joined in that March 16 robbery by the three men, also of New Brunswick, whose attempted robbery of a PNC Bank in Readington on April 5 led to the death of an FBI agent, according to criminal complaints obtained from the U.S. district attorney in Newark.
   During that incident, FBI Special Agent Barry Lee Bush "may have been fatally wounded as a result of the accidental discharge of another agent’s weapon during a dynamic arrest situation," according to an FBI press release.
   Police captured two men, Wilfredo Berrios and Michael Cruz, outside the Readington PNC Bank, and Mr. Lynn was arrested separately the same day, The New York Times reported. A fourth man, Francisco Herrera-Genao, was captured in the woods near Route 22 in Branchburg the next morning after an overnight manhunt involving nearly 300 law enforcement officers, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.
   The men are suspected of robbing nine Central Jersey banks since Jan. 22. A teller was injured during the Dayton heist when a bullet ricocheted and shattered a teller window.
   It is not known how much money was stolen from the Dayton bank. The FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
   The FBI thanked the South Brunswick Police Department, among others, at a press conference in Newark on Friday.
   South Brunswick police, led by Detective Chris Giampietro, assisted in coordinating the investigation of the Dayton robbery with the FBI, said police spokesman Detective James Ryan.
   "Our hearts go out to the family of Agent Bush and all of the FBI," Detective Ryan said. "We have a close relationship with the FBI and we worked hard with them on this investigation. This is not the outcome we had hoped for."
   South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka commended all the investigators who worked on the case.
   "The officers and detectives involved from the South Brunswick police were relentless in their pursuit of these suspects," he said in a statement.
   The Middlesex County prosecutor’s office did not say whether charges would be filed locally against any of the men involved in the Dayton robbery.