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Thieves hit 2 local banks



A sign was posted on the front door of the Webster Bank branch in downtown Attleboro Thursday moments after it was held up. Less than five hours later, a thief hit the North Easton Savings Bank in Mansfield. No weapons were shown in either robbery.




After a lull of eight months with no bank robberies in the Attleboro area, two local banks were robbed within hours of one another Thursday.

Robbers hit banks in Attleboro and Mansfield Thursday afternoon, escaping with undisclosed amounts of cash which they demanded in notes passed to tellers. No injuries were reported.

The first robbery occurred around 12:50 p.m., at the Webster Bank branch in downtown Attleboro, and the second took place about 5:30 p.m., at the North Easton Savings Bank on Copeland Drive in Mansfield.

No weapons were shown in either robbery and, in each heist, the robbers took the notes back from the tellers before making off with the cash.

However, the similarities end there. Police say the robberies do not appear to be related.
Security camera image shows the suspect who police say held up the Webster Bank branch in Attleboro.
In the Attleboro robbery, a bespectacled middle-aged man walked into the Webster Bank at the corner of Park Street and Railroad Avenue just before 1 p.m. He was believed to have run off north on Bank Street, police said.

Police in marked and unmarked cruisers descended on the bank area almost immediately after the call. Officers also checked the municipal parking garage on Sanford and Bank streets and neighborhoods close to the scene.

"We flooded the area with officers," said Attleboro police Capt. Kyle Heagney, who also responded to the scene. "Officers even searched the area on foot."

The suspect was described as a white male with a tan complexion. He was about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a medium build, in his late 40s or early 50s and wearing a blue baseball cap with a Patriots Football logo on the front along with a brown coat and glasses. He also wore a blue-green plaid flannel shirt.

Police released a photograph of the suspect from the bank surveillance cameras and are urging anyone who recognizes the man to call Attleboro detectives at 508-222-1212. The lead investigators are Attleboro Detective Lt. John Otrando and Patrolman Michael McNeil.

In Mansfield, police said the robber of the North Easton Savings Bank was described as a black woman with shoulder length, black hair, wearing a dark-colored jacket and a gray scarf. She was about 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds. She may have been wearing a wig. The suspect also reportedly had white gauze covering a portion of her right cheek.

Mansfield Detective Michael Ellsworth, who is the lead investigator in the robbery, said the woman ran from the bank, but police are investigating reports about a possible getaway vehicle. That vehicle may have been a gray or silver mini-van and reportedly headed toward Route 140, police said.

"We do have some reports about a vehicle we're trying to work out now," Ellsworth said.

Police are also reviewing bank surveillance video to obtain photographs of the suspect.

Ellsworth was busy inside the bank dusting a section of the teller's stations for fingerprints.
While police were inside the bank interviewing employees and gathering evidence, customers came to the bank intending to transact business, only to find the branch was closed. A sign on the door suggested customers visit the two closest branches in either Easton or Norton.

The robberies are part of a recent trend of similar bank robberies in the state. The FBI is investigating a rash of robberies at 19 banks in 16 days, mostly in the Boston area.

The last bank robbery in the Attleboro area occurred last spring. However, in late October, the FBI issued a public plea to help identify the robber in three bank robberies, including one in Sharon near the Foxboro line, which authorities say were committed by the same man.

For the last Attleboro area bank robbery, in late April at the Goldmark Federal Credit Union on Pleasant Street (Route 123) in the city, a 16-year-old girl was arrested after she and another suspect were arrested for a bank robbery in Pawtucket later the same week.

 


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View Comments » 16 comment(s) « Hide Comments

s-plumb wrote on Dec 19, 2009 6:35 PM:

" celt: each post uncovers more about your closed mind... as for spelling, if you had any technical or common sense, you'd know that the feature you discribe is browser dependent. It has nothing to do with this section, but why be bothered with facts? "

s-plumb wrote on Dec 19, 2009 12:33 PM:

" celt: you lie! "

celt wrote on Dec 18, 2009 3:04 PM:

" Hey S-P, Obama did NOT say "that the COUNTRY will go bankrupt without health care (in any form) immediately." But that is just a fact and you don't care much for those. You obviously like paying for the inefficient and stupid health insurance system we now have.

And why don't you pay attention to the built-in spell checker this comment section has? Ever notice how it underlines questionable spellings? No you probably didn't. Not much of a detail or fact person, are you? "

s-plumb wrote on Dec 18, 2009 2:20 PM:

" In keeping with Kev's theme:
0bama co. stole another $600B last night
FreddyMac will steal $400B by 12/31
Fannie will steal $400B by 12/31

Now 0bama did say that the COUNTRY will go bankrupt without health care (in any form) immediately. It gives the impression that this isn't about "doing good", it's about creating a vehicle to collect revenue to pay for $1T here $1T there. Every week we spend a Trillion in "emergencey legistlation".
Probably just a coincidence... "

s-plumb wrote on Dec 18, 2009 2:11 PM:

" I was thinking the same thing...The pic was posted yesterday when the story broke about the attleboro bank, but was not included today...go figure
Here's the link to yesterday's article:
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2009/12/17/news/6636292.txt "

attman63 wrote on Dec 18, 2009 12:49 PM:

" "Police released a photograph of the suspect from the bank surveillance cameras and are urging anyone who recognizes the man to call..."

So, I don't know, uhhhhh, maybe you think they could have, uhhhhh, posted the photograph or something? "

starwitness wrote on Dec 18, 2009 9:52 AM:

" As far as the Mansfield robbery goes, good luck with solving that one. They're still trying figure out who murdered the man in the police station parking lot 20 years ago. "

starwitness wrote on Dec 18, 2009 9:42 AM:

" "Officers even searched the area on foot."
and it was cold out! I'm sure glad I'm getting my $$ worth. WOW "

ekim3129 wrote on Dec 18, 2009 9:40 AM:

" I would think that the sign should have read the exact reson for closing since over 130 banks have gone under this year in the USA. People panic easily. Ok, I've got to go and stock up for the noreaster that's coming Saturday night! "

AndrewJackson wrote on Dec 18, 2009 9:28 AM:

" Good One kevin h. Very sad but true!! "

Ry dog wrote on Dec 18, 2009 8:42 AM:

" ken, you should be thankful for the police dept. we have, there is alot of work they do above and beyond, the only problem is that the public does'nt here about the good "

IShouldBeMayor wrote on Dec 18, 2009 8:23 AM:

" People still rob banks?
Attleboro, the new wild west! "

Hojo20 wrote on Dec 18, 2009 8:15 AM:

" If the robbers had no weapon, how come no one tackled one of them, especially the woman? "

kevin h. wrote on Dec 18, 2009 7:40 AM:

" In similar news: Barack 0bama just stole $100 BILLION to give to the UN climate change industry EACH YEAR!!! "

ken wrote on Dec 18, 2009 6:30 AM:

" Wow did you read that.. The Attlboro police actually got out of their cars and searched on foot! Amazing! "

reefpoint wrote on Dec 18, 2009 6:27 AM:

" looks like the ex wife is on the loose again. "