Police Arrest TD Bank Robbery Suspect in Red Bank

Police arrested and charged Red Bank resident Wilfred Dunn Jr, 27, with robbing TD Bank in Cranford.

At around 6:53 p.m. Friday, the Cranford Police responded to an activated alarm at the bank and found it had been robbed minutes earlier, according to Detective Sgt. Gerard Quinn of the Cranford Police Department.

The suspect allegedly approached a teller and grabbed around $4,000 in bundled cash from the teller station. He also passed a note indicating he was armed with a loaded handgun, according to Quinn. He then fled from TD Bank on foot. Police say witnesses observed him entering a tan Ford Taurus parked in a nearby lot.

After responding to the alarm, Cranford Police broadcast a description of the suspect and vehicle to surrounding towns. The detectives also used court and motor vehicle records to identify the possible suspect.

Using witnesses descriptions and a license plate number, Quinn said detectives zeroed in on a 2003 Ford Taurus, registered in Long Branch, as the vehicle the robber may have used to escape the scene. 

Around 8:50 p.m, Quinn said police observed the Ford Taurus in Red Bank. Officers halted the vehicle and arrested Dunn, the driver. 

He was charged not only with robbery, a first degree crime but also with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to Quinn. The police also recovered a starter pistol, the cash and clothing that apparently matched descriptions of the bank robber.

In addition, Cranford detectives are now cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, trying to determine if  Dunn is responsible for other bank robberies in Union, Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, Quinn said.

He added that Dunn is being held at the Union County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail and is scheduled for a first court appearance on Sept. 1.