$5,000 Reward for Arrest in Middletown Bank Robbery

A serial bank robber could be responsible for the holdup.

The masked man who held up a Middletown bank and threatened the tellers with a handgun Friday evening may be connected to half a dozen other robberies across the state, and a $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to his arrest.

According to police, the robber, who covered his face with a black ski mask and spoke with a thick European accent, entered the Liberty Bank at 827 Washington Street just prior to 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6.

Authorities said he crouched down as he entered the bank and advanced toward the counter with an outstretched black handgun – possibly a 9mm.

The man demanded money from all three tellers who were working at the time and threatened to hurt anyone who gave him a dye pack. "He pointed and waved the handgun at the tellers randomly" while gathering piles of cash, according to police.

Witnesses describe the robber as a slender, light-skinned man standing about 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was wearing a long black coat with a black baseball cap and a gray-colored hood pulled over his head. Gray sweatshirt sleeves protruded from underneath his coat and over his palms, which were covered with purple latex gloves and possibly stained red, police said.

Tellers told police the suspect wore heavy cologne and spoke with a heavy accident that may have been Russian, Slavic, Albanian or Polish.

He ran westbound through the parking lot toward a nearby Taco Bell restaurant. Police K-9s tried to track him but lost the scent just to the west of the bank, authorities said.

Police have linked the suspect to the robbery of a Liberty Bank in Durham two weeks ago. Authorities said a man held up the bank at 357 Main Street just before it closed for the night and got away with about $6,000. He left that scene in a silver Volkswagen Passat with a stolen license plate.

Durham police said at the time of the robbery that were investigating a possible link between the Jan. 23 case and a similar robbery in Cromwell that occurred Jan. 8. The suspect in both robberies is described as having a thick European accent.

Those robberies have been linked to holdups in Rocky Hill, Plainville, Southington, Bristol and Wallingford, according to the Connecticut Intelligence Center.

The Connecticut Bankers Reward Association initially offered a $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. Police said Thursday the reward has been increased to $5,000.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Middletown Police Department Major Investigations Unit at 860-638-4000.

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