Ocean Gate man tied to bank robberies in Lacey and Toms River
It took multiple agencies but the suspect tied to bank robberies in Toms River and Lacey has been found and arrested, announced Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.
Robert Fitzpatrick, Jr., 35, has been charged with two counts of Robbery in violation of N.J.S.A.2C:15-1a.
On Wednesday, May 29, Lacey Detectives, as well as Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, responded to investigate a robbery that had just occurred at the Kearny Bank in Lanoka Harbor.
The investigation revealed that a male dressed in dark clothing approached two bank tellers and demanded money.
The suspect then fled the bank on foot into a nearby wooded area with more than $13,000.00 in stolen United States currency.
With the cooperation of the Toms River Township Police Detective Bureau, further investigation revealed that the suspect from the Kearney Bank robbery in Lacey matched the description of the suspect involved in the robbery of a Bank of America in Toms River that had occurred on April 25.
The vehicle utilized in the commission of the robbery was identified with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police as well as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and this led to the identification of Fitzpatrick as the suspect in both bank robberies.
On Thursday of this week, Detectives from both the Lacey and Toms River Police Departments, along with members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Regional SWAT Team and Stafford Township Police Department K-9 Unit, executed a search warrant at Fitzpatrick’s residence in Ocean Gate.
Fitzpatrick was arrested and transported to the Lacey Police Department where he was processed and charged with the May 29 Kearney Bank robbery, and subsequently transported to the Toms River Police Department where he was processed and charged with the April 25 Bank of America robbery.
Fitzpatrick is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail awaiting a detention hearing.
Additional charges may be forthcoming.
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