Crime & Safety

NY Man Accused of Robbing Parsippany Bank

Authorities investigating whether Brooklyn resident is connected to other recent heists.

A New York man was apprehended in Hudson County shortly after robbing a Parsippany bank Wednesday morning, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said.

Stephen L. Smith, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was charged with robbery and theft after at about 10:50 a.m., the prosecutor's office said. A weapon was not shown during the robbery, the prosecutor's office said.

Witnesses described the alleged robber as a black male, approximately 5-foot-10 with a thin build wearing a black baseball hat and a gray hooded sweatshirt, the prosecutor's office said.

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Secaucus Police conducted a motor vehicle stop on Route 3 of a 2005 Black Audi A6 with New York license plates driven by a man who fit the description of the bank robber, the prosecutor's office said.

Smith was lodged at the Morris County Correctional Facility in lieu of $100,000 bail with no 10 percent option.

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"The arrest was the result of information being transmitted very quickly and alert members of law enforcement," Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi said. "I am proud of the diligence, perseverance and skill of the team which ultimately led to the charges. We are currently working with our law enforcement partners to determine if the defendant is linked to any other incident."

This was the latest in a string of six bank robberies in Morris County and the third in Parsippany since July.

The first occurred on July 20 when a man  inside a Pathmark on Route 46 in Parsippany. A bank and two in Lincoln Park, one on  and one on were also robbed. The last bank robbery occurred last week when the Provident Bank on Smith Road in Parsippany at gunpoint on Aug. 27.

In multiple cases, a well-dressed man in a hat and dress suit was reported to have robbed the banks. A man fitting that description was spotted inside a Kinnelon bank last week, but no robbery occurred.


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