MANCHESTER – The man recently charged with the robberies of Kearny Bank in Lacey and the Bank of America in Toms River has been linked to yet another robbery in Manchester, police report.
Robert Fitzpatrick Jr., 35, of Ocean Gate was charged on June 7 for his involvement in robbing the Wells Fargo on Route 530 in Whiting on April 9, 2019. Fitzpatrick Jr. was charged with one count each of robbery and theft by Manchester Det. Richard Jupinka.
On April 9 at approximately 4:35 p.m., Manchester Police responded to a hold-up alarm at the Wells Fargo in Whiting. While en route, officers discovered that a male subject had entered the bank, demanded money, and after receiving an undisclosed amount of cash, fled the bank on foot.
According to Manchester Police, “The officers were told that no weapon was displayed and that no force was used by the suspect during the robbery. Numerous officers, who immediately responded to the area, cordoned off the bank and ensured that everyone was safe inside.”
The area was searched for the suspect using police K-9s as well as the department’s drone. These searches were unsuccessful.
Previously, Fitzpatrick Jr. was arrested on June 6 and charged in bank robberies at the Kearny Bank in Lacey and the Bank of America in Toms River that occurred back in April and May.
On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, Lacey Township Police 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 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, 2019. 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; this led to the identification of Fitzpatrick, with an address in Ocean Gate, as the suspect in both bank robberies.
On Thursday, June 6,, Detectives from both the Lacey and Toms River Township Police Departments executed a search warrant at Fitzpatrick’s residence in Ocean Gate. Fitzpatrick was taken into custody and transported to the Lacey Township Police Department where he was processed and charged with the May 29 Kearney Bank robbery, and subsequently transported to the Toms River Township Police Department where he was processed and charged with the April 25 Bank of America robbery.
After being processed and charged with both the Lacey and Toms River robberies, Fitzpatrick was transported to Manchester Township Police Department where he was subsequently charged with robbing the Whiting bank on April 9.
Fitzpatrick remains lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a hearing.
