Greenwich Police Announce Arrest Made in Patriot Bank Robbery

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Greenwich Police announced that an arrest has been made in the Jan 25 robbery at Patriot National Bank at 100 Mason Street when at about 4:30pm, a white male suspect entered the bank and displayed a handgun and demanded cash from a teller.

On Feb 6, Detective James Bonney said the suspect had been arrested in Miami, Florida.

“From our perspective, the case is solved and the suspect is in custody,” said Lt. Gray on Monday. “Procedures are being worked out between federal law enforcement and Greenwich Police on who will charge him.”

“One of the major factors to catching him was that the bank employees called 911 immediately,” Bonney said, adding that banks often have policies that require employees to call internally before calling police, and that precious time can be lost.

Detective Bonney said Patriot Bank provided police with surveillance video immediately. “They were super cooperative,” he said. “We had officers in the right place at the right time and had officers available to assist.”

Bonney said dispatchers got word to officers fast. Officers arrived at the bank very quickly and got the license plate and description of the car, as well as a description of the suspect.

Officer Sanborn said he was on duty when he saw the suspect’s car pass by by I95 exit 3.

“It was sheer luck,” Sanborn said, adding that he turned on his lights and sirens. “The suspect stopped at first in the middle of the intersection, and then all of a sudden decided to take off.”

The suspect drove south on I95, and Officer Sanborn pursued. He said that the suspect sideswiped a car and crashed in the area of the bridge before exit 21/Midland Ave in Port Chester. Then, traveling at high speed, the suspect swerved right into the breakdown lane, where he exited his disabled car and took off running.

Officer Sanborn was assisted by Greenwich Police Officer JD Smith who described the foot chase of the suspect. “I jumped in at Frontage Road where the suspect went over the sound barrier. I heard the sound of shattering glass and then heard women screaming for help,” he recalled.

Detective Bonney said the suspect had gone into one home and then exited and run to a second home.

“The women came out and I told them to go to a safe location,” Officer Smith said, adding that he covered the front of the house and Officer Sanborn covered the rear.

The suspect escaped and remained at large for several days. Ultimately, he was arrested in Miami, Florida on unrelated charges.

“We have a tremendous amount of physical evidence from the scene at the bank robbery, from the vehicle and the gun,” said Lt. Gray.

Of the suspect, Bonney said he had hit multiple locations across the country. “He will be charged with multiple bank robberies in multiple states,” he said.

“There was a lot of excellent work done by Greenwich Police,” said Lt. Gray. “Starting from the beginning, with the arrival of the first officer, the detectives, the Port Chester Police Dept, the New York City Police Dept, the New York State Police and the FBI.”

See also:

UPDATE: Greenwich Police Expect Patriot Bank Robbery Case to Be Solved Soon