Last modified: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:13 AM EST Police look for link between man, robberies BY DAVID LINTON SUN CHRONICLE STAFF FOXBORO - A man arrested last week parked in a residential neighborhood with a replica handgun and an alleged robbery note in his pickup truck has aroused the interest of several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, looking at a potential link to bank robberies elsewhere in the state. Foxboro Police Chief Edward O'Leary said the suspect was arrested by Patrolman Brian Gallagher Friday morning after Gallagher noticed the man sitting in the truck on Alice Bradley Lane near Beach Street. Brent D. Hadley, 35, who gave authorities addresses in Bellingham and Woonsocket, R.I., is currently being held in jail on $100,000 cash bail on a heroin possession charge and has not been charged with any robberies. Hadley was sitting his his pickup truck with the engine running when Gallagher came upon the vehicle. Hadley said he was lost and told Gallagher he was looking for a street that doesn't exist in Foxboro, according to a police report. While talking to Hadley, Gallagher noticed a handgun sticking out from under the driver's seat on the floor, according to the report. He ordered Hadley out of the vehicle when his backup, Patrolman Charles Gallagher, arrived. The gun turned out to be a pellet gun but police also found a note "which refers to someone committing a bank robbery," according to the report. Also found inside the pickup was a syringe filled with alleged heroin, three other hypodermic syringes and two Rhode Island license plates. Foxboro police charged Hadley with possession of heroin, but O'Leary said several law enforcement agencies in the Westford and Framingham areas responded to a statewide broadcast about the incident. Hadley has not been charged with any robberies and denied he ever committed a robbery when questioned at the Foxboro police station, according to the report. Hadley told police he wanted to rob a bank about a year ago "when he was desperate," but never followed through with his plans, according to the police report. Hadley was ordered held at the Dedham House of Correction on $100,000 cash bail after pleading innocent to heroin possession. In her reasons for bail, Judge Emogene Johnson-Smith cited the defendant's out-of-state criminal record and the discovery of a suspicious note consistent with a robbery note. The judge also said the defendant fits the profile of three robbers, according to court records. The FBI, which is notified about all bank robberies because the funds are federally insured, sent an agent to Wrentham District Court for Hadley's arraignment Friday, authorities said. A spokeswoman for the FBI's Boston office, Gail Marcinkiewicz, declined to comment. "Under the Department of Justice guidelines we can neither confirm nor deny an investigation," Marcinkiewicz said. O'Leary praised Officer Brian Gallagher for his alertness and investigation of a suspicious vehicle in a residential neighborhood. Hadley is due back in court March 12 for a pretrial hearing. A lawyer appointed to represent him on the Foxboro drug charge could not be reached for comment Monday. DAVID LINTON can be reached at 508-236-0338 or at dlinton@thesunchronicle.com.