Three Somerset County men were charged Wednesday, June 24, with the June 12 armed bank robbery of the Somerset Savings Bank in Somerville, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
The three are Luis Castaneda, 38, of Bound Brook; Carmelo Soto Jr., 24, of Manville, and Jamie Lee Ayuso Jr., 38, of Hillsborough. They were each charged with one count of bank robbery.
Mr. Castaneda and Mr. Soto were also charged with one count each of using a firearm during the commission of crime of violence. All three men were scheduled to make their initial appearances Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements in court:
On June 12, Mr. Castaneda and Mr. Soto entered the Somerset Savings Bank while Mr. Ayuso stayed behind in the getaway vehicle. Mr. Castaneda drew a handgun while Mr. Soto jumped over the teller counter and demanded money from the bank tellers.
After leaving the bank with the stolen money, attorney said, Mr. Castaneda and Mr. Soto got in the getaway vehicle. Law enforcement officers immediately pulled over the getaway vehicle and arrested all three men.
The bank robbery count carries a maximum potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of brandishing a firearm during the bank robbery carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, which must be served consecutive to the other count.
Mr. Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Geoffrey D. Soriano; the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey; and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III, with the investigation leading to the charges.
He also thanked the Somerville, Manville, Middlesex Boro, Piscataway, Readington, Bridgewater, Clinton Township and Bound Brook police departments for their work on the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Hafetz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
