Alleged bank robber arrested

FARMINGTON - The local police department's quick tactical response to an attempted bank robbery Monday may have solved a string of nine bank robberies in the area, including five in Bristol, three in Plainville and one at the People's Bank branch robbery that occurred in Farmington in March.


Police Sgt. Paul Lemieux arrested Richard Ferry, 44, of 124 Lakeside Drive, Bristol, just 10 minutes after he allegedly attempted to rob the Farmington Savings Bank branch at Scott Swamp Road and Plainville Avenue, police said.
Lemieux was in an unmarked car heading north on New Britain Avenue when he observed a vehicle matching the description of the robbery suspect's car speeding and operating erratically headed south within minutes of learning of the attempted heist at the bank branch, police said.
Immediately pulling a U-turn and calling for backup, Lemieux followed the suspect's vehicle through Farmington until it got on Route 177 (Scott Swamp Road) and then stopped just over the Plainville town line on Route 177 by the on-ramp to Route 372, according to reports.
"We had patrol officers respond to the bank and we had other officers approaching from the most likely areas where he would make his getaway," said Sgt. Daniel Devine. "Sgt. Lemieux spotted him, pulled him over and called for backup. He was arrested without incident."
Local detectives had been trading information with Plainville and Bristol police on a string of bank robberies in all three towns since March 28 when a suspect matching Ferry's description robbed the People's Bank in Post Office Square.
During that robbery, a lone suspect wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap toting a wallet in his mouth made off with an unspecified amount of cash. Devine said the detectives had received information that the suspect was driving a Jeep Cherokee - the same type of vehicle Ferry was driving Monday.
Plainville police said they are currently looking at "the possibility" Ferry may be a suspect in the three bank robberies they've had in recent months. "Certainly we're going to investigate the possibility, since the method of operating seems to be similar to robberies we've had in the past several months," Plainville Lt. Brian Mullins said.
Bristol Detective Lt. Thomas Killiany said city police have not identified any suspects in recent bank robberies in Bristol.
Though the suspect seen in surveillance footage of a May 30 robbery at the Bristol Broad Street branch of TD Banknorth bears a striking resemblance to that of a man who robbed the Post Office Square branch of People's Bank in Farmington March 28, Killiany could not definitively say the suspects are the same man.
Additionally, said Killiany, though the suspect shares similar physical characteristics to suspects from other bank robberies that have occurred in Bristol over the past several months, based on a number of factors, investigators cannot conclusively say those suspects are the same.
Ferry walked into the FSB branch about 10:52 a.m. Monday wearing a pink New York Yankees baseball cap and carrying a folded envelope in his mouth, Devine said, but when he handed the teller a note demanding money, the teller refused to comply and then Devine backed away from the counter and walked out of the bank without getting any cash. No weapon was shown and no one was injured during Monday's robbery attempt. Police in all three towns said the suspect has never shown a weapon during any of the robberies.
Ferry was arrested by Farmington police on charges of attempt at third-degree robbery, attempt at sixth-degree larceny, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of narcotics.
Devine said officers found a baseball cap and a plaid shirt matching the description of those worn by the suspect in Ferry's car. Police also found small amounts of heroin and cocaine in the vehicle, Devine said.
Ferry was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for first-degree failure to appear issued by Hartford police. The original Hartford case stemmed from drug charges, Devine said.
Ferry was being held on $550,000 bond until his appearance in Hartford Superior Court today.
Farmington police had issued an alert requesting information from the public on the People's Bank robbery a few weeks ago.
Witnesses to the May 30 Bristol robbery described the suspect as being in his mid- to late-30s between 5-foot-7-inches and 5-foot-10-inches tall and weighing between 160 and 180 pounds. They said he wore a long-sleeve white button-down shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers and further attempted to disguise himself by wearing a dark blue Boston Red Sox baseball cap, with that team's trademark red "B" on the front, pulled low on his forehead and sunglasses over his eyes.
At that time, Bristol Lt. Thomas Grimaldi said that by all accounts the white male was alone when he entered TD Banknorth, and attempted to disguise himself by holding a white handkerchief over his mouth and nose. He handed the teller a note with a demand for cash, according to Grimaldi, but there was no mention of a weapon being used and no one was injured.
Anyone with information on the Bristol heists is encouraged to call police at (860) 584-3000 or the Criminal Investigation Division at (860) 314-4561.
Amy V. Talit contributed to this story.