Crime & Safety

Dapper Bandit's Arrest Was His Fourth, Prosecutor Says

Warren Township resident tells judge he planned to start job on Wall Street Monday.

Bail for the so-called dapper bandit, the Warren Township man accused of robbing several Morris County banks, will remain at $500,000, a state Superior Court judge ruled Monday afternoon.

Judge Robert Gilson presided over a bail review hearing at Morris County Courthouse for David G. Carroccia, 28, who is charged with four counts of robbery in connection with bank robberies this summer in Parsippany, Lincoln Park and Mount Olive, plus an attempted robbery at a Kinnelon bank, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi.

Carroccia may also face separate charges stemming from other robberies in Somerset and Monmouth counties, according to Assistant Morris County Prosecutor Julie Serfess.

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This was Carroccia's fourth arrest, according to Serfess.

Gilson noted that although a weapon was not used in any of the robberies, Carroccia allegedly put bank employees in fear of immediate bodily harm in each incident.

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Carroccia appeared in court via closed-circuit television. He was dressed in prison grey and wore glasses. The soft-spoken, slight man stammered and fidgeted as he haltingly addressed the judge to say that he worked part-time "at the Meadowlands" and had been scheduled Monday to start a $45,000 per year computer job on Wall Street.

"Computers are my passion," he told the judge, asking him to reduce his bail. "I just want to get out and be productive and do what I love to do."

Carroccia, who said he lives in the basement of his parents' home, started to tell the judge of his struggle with heroin addiction when Gilson interjected and told him to restrict his comments to the matter of bail.

The defendant said he had hired an attorney but was not going to meet the lawyer until Tuesday.

Judge Gilson announced that bail would remain at $500,000 in full with a waiver of extradition and a source review, saying he believed Carraccia was a potential flight risk. He advised the defendant to speak with his attorney, who can try to convince the court to reduce the bail at a future time.

Serfess told Judge Gilson the defendant faces four charges of second-degree robbery, and if convicted, each charge carries a potential sentence of 5 to 10 years.

Carroccia is also charged with one count of attempted robbery, a third-degree crime carrying a potential sentence of three to five years in prison, and possession of stolen property, which could result in a sentence of up to 20 years behind bars.

Because of the nature of the alleged offenses, the assistant prosecutor said Carroccia would be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before having a chance at parole.

"The proofs are strong," Serfess asserted, adding that two bank tellers identified Carroccia as the well-dressed robber. 

Carroccia's arrest was the culmination of after a nearly three-month, multi-agency undercover bank robbery task force investigation. According to an arrest affidavit, Carroccia's car with missing hubcaps helped lead authorities to him.

Carraccia's next court appearance, a status conference, is schedule for Oct. 31. 


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