Police are investigating possible connection between area bank robberies.
By: Leon Tovey
MONROE Authorities are investigating whether a man who robbed the Provident Bank near the intersection of Applegarth and Prospect Plains roads Saturday might be the same man responsible for a three other area bank robberies in the past two months.
Detective Sgt. Lawrence Linke of the Monroe Township Police Department said Monday that the robbery occurred at approximately 10:32 a.m. The robber, described as a medium-built black man in his 20s, approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with a "cornrow type" hairstyle, entered the bank and handed a teller a note demanding cash, Sgt. Linke said.
The teller surrendered an undisclosed amount of cash to the man, who ran away in an unknown direction, Sgt. Linke said.
Special Agent John Conway of the FBI said Monday that surveillance footage showed the robber, who was dressed in an oversized white shirt and blue jeans, entering the bank and writing something at a service table before he approached the teller.
The note the man handed to the teller made no mention of a weapon and no weapon was exhibited, Special Agent Conway said.
The robbery was the fourth such robbery to occur in the area since the end of April.
On April 30, $3,400 was stolen from Bank of America on Washington Street in Rocky Hill. On May 21, $2,000 was stolen from the PNC Bank on Georges Road in Dayton and on May 31, an undisclosed sum was taken from a Wachovia Bank on Route 27 in Edison.
Authorities have said the three robberies were probably linked, based on surveillance footage taken at each of the three banks and the similar method of handing a note to the teller that was used at each bank.
Special Agent Conway said the Monroe robbery could be linked, but investigators had not yet made a final determination. The robber in each of the three previous robberies stated in his note that he had a gun, while in the Provident Bank robbery no such claim was made.
The last bank robbery in Monroe Township occurred on May 3, 2004, when a man walked into the Amboy National Bank on Forsgate Drive and gave a note to a teller stating he had a gun. Two North Brunswick men were later charged in connection with that robbery. One of the men pleaded guilty to charges of armed robbery in federal court and the other is currently awaiting trial.
Sgt. Linke said police had obtained a "very good" picture of the man involved in the Provident Bank robbery from the bank’s surveillance camera. He declined to release the photo, pending distribution to other area police departments.
Sgt. Linke said the New Jersey State Police were examining the note and fingerprints left at the bank.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Special Agent Nick Zubulake of the FBI at (732) 469-7386, or Sgt. Linke or Detective Peter Piro of the Monroe Township Police Department at (732) 521-0222, ext. 514.