Crime

Robbery attempt at East Rockaway Capital One foiled

Police called to Main Street bank for the second time in a week

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An attempted bank robbery at an East Rockaway bank was stopped on Tuesday afternoon after a manager at the bank recognized the would-be thief from a robbery that occurred at the branch a week earlier.

The Nassau County Police Department said a white male entered the Capital One Bank, located at 115 Main St. in East Rockaway, at 1:37 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, wearing a sweatshirt and covering his face with a mask. John Cerulli, the branch manager at the bank, recognized the suspect from a robbery that occurred there on March 10.

“When he walked in, we couldn’t see his face because he was wearing a sweatshirt and covering his face,” Cerulli said. “It was the same look the robber from last week had. After we recognized what was happening, he fled the bank pretty quickly.”

Police said the suspect fled the bank into a waiting car, which quickly left the scene. Police searched the area around the bank, but were unable to locate the vehicle.

According to an eyewitness who works across the street from the bank, a man with dark clothing ran from the bank after the attempted robbery, getting into the passenger side of a dark blue car that was waiting roughly halfway down the street.

The suspect in the March 10 robbery is described as a 5-foot-9 white male with an average build, blue eyes and a tattoo under his left eye. He was seen wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, a black scarf around his face and a pair of black gloves. No weapon was displayed during either incident.

Mary Malloy contributed to this story.