A Howell man who was convicted in November 2012 for a three-month armed bank robbery spree was sentenced on Feb. 1 to 40 years in state prison, Monmouth County Acting Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni, announced.
Gramiccioni said Edgar Torres, 45, of Howell, was sentenced to 40 years in state prison by state Superior Court Judge John T. Mullaney Jr., subject to the No Early Release Act, which means that Torres will have to serve 85 percent of the 40-year sentence (34 years) before he is eligible for parole.
Torres was convicted in November of the Dec. 22, 2010, robbery of the Provident Bank in Howell, the Jan. 24, 2011, robbery of the Chase Bank in Howell, and the Feb. 16, 2011, robbery of the Chase Bank in Ocean Township, following a six-week trial before Mullaney.
In each of the three bank robberies, Torres took steps to conceal his identity before entering the bank, where he approached a teller, displayed a handgun and demanded money.
A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office with the Howell and Ocean Township police departments identified Torres as the person responsible for each of the bank robberies, culminating with his arrest on Feb. 25, 2011.