A Randolph NJ man was sentenced to serve almost 12 years in federal prison for robbing a local bank in 2013.
According to prosecutors, the 35-year-old suspect was wearing a black cloth mask and brandishing a handgun when he walked into a PNC bank branch in May 2013.
The suspect approached a bank teller and demanded that the teller hand over cash. According to a criminal complaint issued against the suspect, the bank teller gave him $1,777 in cash. The cash included a hidden GPS unit, which allowed police to track the suspect’s movements after he left the bank.
The GPS unit allegedly transmitted data which showed that the suspect had driven directly to his house in Randolph, New Jersey.
Investigators later recovered two pieces of the GPS unit from the backyard. Investigators also obtained video footage from a camera installed on a neighbor’s house. The footage reportedly showed two small objects – possibly the GPS unit – being thrown from the suspect’s house into the backyard.
Police officers canvassed the area on the day of the robbery. They also spoke to the suspect, who claimed that he had been at work that day. However, according to prosecutors, the suspect had actually called in sick to work.
Witnesses at the bank described the suspect as a man standing roughly 6 feet tall and weighing between 200 pounds and 230 pounds. According to prosecutors, the witnesses’ descriptions matched the suspect.
The suspect was eventually placed under arrest and faced federal charges for armed robbery.
After a two-week trial in U.S. District Court, the suspect was sentenced to nearly 12 years in federal prison, as well as 3 years of supervised release.
To learn more, see the NJ.com article entitled “Bank Robber Caught with Hidden GPS Sentenced to Nearly 12 Years in Jail.”