Authorities say Tuesday’s incident at the Wells Fargo in Little Silver was not a robbery. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Little Silver police have brought criminal charges against an Avenel man following an incident at the Wells Fargo bank on Prospect Avenue that caused police to lock down the bank earlier this week.
Contrary to initial reports, it was not a robbery, said Marc Lemieux, director of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office‘s major crimes bureau.
Lemiuex said Cheung Lee, 41, of the Avenel section of Woodbridge, entered the bank, which is next door to the police department, at about 4:19 Tuesday afternoon and had his hands in his pockets in a way that indicated he might have had a gun, and “he basically tells nobody to move.”
He then asked a bank teller to make change for a $50 bill and left, heading down the street, where Lemieux said Lee approached a group of teenage girls and told them he had a gun.
Lee did not have a gun, nor did he attempt to rob the bank, Lemieux said.
Little Silver police charged Lee with two counts of making terroristic threats and one count of causing a false public alarm, both third-degree crimes.
Lemieux said Lee posted the $75,000 bail and is awaiting a court date.
