Joseph Campbell, 59, was arrested and charged with armed robbery stemming from the Tuesday, Jan. 17, heist at TD Bank at 250 Cambridge Street, the Suffolk County District Attorney said. A judge ordered him held on $10,000 bail.
Police say Campbell entered the bank around 12:30 p.m. and handed the teller a note that read, "I have a bomb on me give me 3,000 in hundreds." The teller gave Cambell $2,000, but unbeknownst to him, they slipped a GPS tracker into the stack of bills. Other bank employees hit the silent alarm, which alerted officers to the robbery, the prosecutor said.
Officers were able to track the GPS to the Park Street MBTA station, where they found Campbell, who had $1,888 in cash, along with the tracker and ransom note in his pocket, authorities said.
Campbell has a long history of theft and assault in Utah dating back to 1990, the prosecutor said.
District Attorney Kevin Hayden applauded the bank teller for their quick thinking and how they handled the situation.
“Great credit has to go to the bank employees here," he said. "They maintained their composure in a frightening situation and took essential steps to lead police directly to the person responsible. This mix of technology and human alertness should be a caution to any others thinking of committing such a crime — you won’t succeed."
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