Authorities say they have arrested a suspect in the robbery of the Two Rivers Community Bank in Red Bank two weeks ago and four other area bank robberies.
And he’s local.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin says in a statement that his office arrested Richard C. Demott, Jr., 56, of Tinton Falls Tuesday and charged him with five counts of first degree armed robbery. He’s being held on $1 million bail in the county lockup.
The charges stem from holdups committed between May 27 and August 19 at the following locations:
• Sun National Bank at 541 Sycamore Avenue in Shrewsbury on May 27
•. Hudson City Savings Bank, Route 36 and Route 71 in West Long Branch on June 7
• Two River Community Bank on Shrewsbury Avenue in Tinton Falls on June 23
• Two River Community Bank at 100 Water Street, Red Bank at about 3:06p on August 15
• Central Jersey Bank on Main Street in Bradley Beach August 19, 2008
The press release doesn’t give any details about the robberies, but the Asbury Park Press reports that the suspect
was a note passer who never displayed a weapon, police said. In each of the robberies he is believed to have committed he wore a baseball cap. Witnesses described a taller man in his late 40s or 50s with graying hair as the robber in each of the five bank jobs.
The Press further says that the arrest was made
when two investigators assigned to a task force investigating the robberies spotted a man matching the suspect’s description on the street in Bradley Beach, according to a member of the investigative team who is not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Ironically, the detectives had just left a meeting where they had been discussing their next moves in the case.
Valentin said that investigations into other recent bank robberies are continuing “notwithstanding Demott’s arrest. He asked that anyone with information to share call Lt. Keith Coleman of the prosecutorÂ’s office at 1.800.533.7443 or the FBI at 732.741.0006.
