Members of the same family have been charged in their alleged connection to three bank robberies in Princeton, Franklin Park and Monroe Township.
On July 6, a suspect attempted to rob a TD Bank in Princeton, Mercer County. The suspect was donning a motorcycle helmet with a GoPro-style camera mounted to it, face covering, gloves, and a GoPro chest harness. The suspect arrived and fled on a black motorcycle, according to police.
On August 22, a suspect robbed the Chase Bank located at 3333 Route 27 in Franklin Park, Somerset County. The suspect, who was donning a motorcycle helmet with a GoPro-style camera mounted to it, face covering, gloves, and a GoPro chest harness, demanded money from multiple tellers and fled with an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency on a black motorcycle, according to police.
The most recent bank robbery occurred on Oct. 9 when a suspect robbed a TD Bank on Prospect Plains Road in Monroe Township, Middlesex County. The suspect, who was donning a motorcycle helmet, face covering, and gloves, fled with an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency on a black motorcycle, according to police.
A joint investigation among law enforcement agencies in all three municipalities came together to investigate the bank robberies.
On Dec. 12, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives John W. Fodor, and Franklin Township Public Safety Director Quovella M. Maeweather announced the arrest of Michael Gaboff, 36, Millstone, in connection with the bank robbery in Fraklin Township.
As a result of the three-month investigation, Gaboff was identified as the individual that robbed the bank, according to a press release through the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office on Dec. 12.
On Dec. 2, with the assistance of the Newark Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) SWAT Team, agents from FBI Newark, the Franklin Township Resident Agency Office, members of the Franklin Township Police Department, members of the Monroe Township (Middlesex County) Police Department’s Criminal Investigations division, members of the New Jersey State Police, and detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office executed a search warrant at Gaboff’s residence in Millstone in Monmouth County.
As a result of the investigation, Gaboff was apprehended in Ocean, also in Monmouth County, by investigators assigned to the investigation. Gaboff was charged with second degree robbery and second degree conspiracy to commit robbery.
Gaboff was transported to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office for processing and subsequently lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Family members of Gaboff were charged with third degree hindering during the investigation. The family members included Alan Gaboff, Sharon Gaboff, and Jesse Gaboff, all of Millstone. They were all processed and released pending a court appearance.
McDonald thanked the following agencies for their assistance in this investigation: the FBI, the New Jersey State Police, Monroe Township Police Department, and the Princeton Police Department.
On Dec. 14, the Monroe Township Police Department released the charges against Ryan Gaboff, who was charged with robbing the bank in Monroe. His family members – Michael Gaboff, Alan Gaboff, Sharon Gaboff, and Jesse Gaboff, were charged with third degree hindering and tampering with evidence during the investigation, according to the Monroe Township Police Department.
Monroe Police thanked the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office for all their hard work in assisting the investigation in their municipality. They also thanked the Franklin Township Police Department, Princeton Police Department, New Jersey State Police, and the FBI Newark Office for all their hard work.
Anyone with information relating to the bank robberies is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-5533 or via the STOPit app.
The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports, and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.