A 28-year-old Warren Township man was arrested on Thursday, October 11 in connection with a series of bank robberies throughout Morris County, according to county prosecutor Robert Bianchi. According to the northjersey.com report, the suspect was apprehended while driving his vehicle at 2pm in Warren Township as a result of a three-month undercover investigation by various state and municipal law enforcement agencies which include: the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Intelligence Crimes Task Force, Technical Assistance Response Unit, and Tactical Team; the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Section, K-9 Unit, and Emergency Response Team; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; New Jersey State Police; and Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit. Unable to post $500,000 bail, he remains at Morris County Correctional Facility where he awaits trial.
The suspect has been charged with four counts of robbery in the second degree and one count of third degree attempted robbery. If convicted, these charges carry a maximum of 45 years in state prison.
While there is a possibility that the suspect will be linked to other robberies and attempted robberies statewide in the coming weeks, he was formally charged in the following robberies, Indus American Bank on July 20 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, PNC Bank on July 30 in Mount Olive, Capital One Bank on Aug. 10 in Lincoln Park and Boiling Springs Savings bank on Aug. 23 in Lincoln Park. The prosecutor also alleged that the suspect attempted to rob the PNC Bank in the Meadtown Shopping Center off Route 23 South in Kinnelon on Aug. 28.
“I am extremely proud of the work of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office assistant prosecutors, detectives, investigative, and legal support staff, as well as our local police officers and agencies outside Morris County who jointly worked on this (Bank Robbery) Task Force,” said Bianchi in a press release.
Robbery is a usually a crime of the second degree. It can become a crime of the first degree if in the course of committing the theft the actor attempts to kill anyone, purposely inflicts or attempts to inflict serious bodily injury, or is armed with, uses or threatens the immediate use of a deadly weapon.
According to New Jersey state law, N.J.S.A 2C: 15-1, the Morris County bank robbery suspect will be found guilty of robbery if, during the commission of a theft he: (1) inflicted bodily injury or used force on another person; (2) threatened another with or purposely put another in fear of immediate bodily injury; or (3) commits or threatens immediately to commit any crime of the first or second degree.
Robbery is always a serious offense, and New Jersey anti-criminal units and Morris County police are extremely effective at what they do. If you have been charged with robbery in a town like Morristown, Lincoln Park, or Florham Park in Morris County, it is absolutely essential that you seek out and retain an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately. Our attorneys have over 100 years of combined criminal defense experience and initial consultations are always free.
