Police

Update: Police offer $5,000 reward for bank robber arrest

Police say this man robbed Capital One Bank in Jamesport on Tuesday. (Credit: Riverhead Town Police Department)
Police say this man robbed Capital One Bank in Jamesport on Tuesday. (Credit: Riverhead Town Police Department)

Update 8 p.m.: The suspect that robbed Capital One Bank in Jamesport on Tuesday is described as a tall black male with a large build wearing a white-hooded sweatshirt, according to a Riverhead Town police press release.

The man reportedly entered the bank, handed a teller a note demanding money and left with an undisclosed amount of money. A search of the area that included a K-9 unit had negative results, officials said. Police believe the suspect may be the same person who robbed Capital One Bank on East Main Street in Riverhead on Dec. 16.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest, police said.

Any with information on either robbery is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS or the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500.

The Riverhead Town Police Department has also released a description of the suspect involved with Tuesday’s armed robbery at Sunglass Hut located at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead.

That suspect is described as a white male wearing a black-colored hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, police said. He fled on foot into the parking area of Tanger II, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Anyone with information about the robbery at Sunglass Hut is asked to contact the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500 ext. 321.

-Written by Jen Nuzzo

Original story:

Riverhead Police are investigating a pair of robberies that occurred in town at the same time Tuesday afternoon.

Police said Capital One bank on Main Road in Jamesport was robbed at 1:56 p.m., when a man presented a note demanding cash. No weapon has been reported in the incident; however, police are currently on the scene, searching a wooded area nearby for the suspect.

Sunglass Hut at Tanger Outlets was also robbed at 1:56 p.m, police said. A man with a knife robbed the outlet store of cash, though police did not say how much. No arrests were reported.Sunglass

Riverhead police Lt. Rick Boden said the two incidents are not related.

Although police could not say how many employees were in Sunglass Hut at the time of the robbery, at least two appeared to be inside at 3 p.m.

“That’s kind of scary to think my daughter could be working [at the outlet center] with this going on,” said Catherine Paez of Southampton, who was at Tanger Outlets with her daughter Kate, who was filling out job applications at the time of the robbery.

“It’s not even like it’s 9 at night,” the daughter said. “You’d assume it would happen in the food court or something, not Sunglass Hut.”

The robberies are the second and third reported since the start of the week in Riverhead; a Wading River gas station was robbed around 12:45 a.m. yesterday. The Capital One branch on East Main Street in Riverhead was also robbed last month. No arrest has been made in either of those incidents.

Check back as more details become available.

Police are investigating a robbery at Capital One bank in Jamesport. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)
Police are investigating a robbery at Capital One bank in Jamesport. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)