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Epic Fail: Would-Be Bank Robber Captured After Leaving Empty-Handed, Hackensack Police Say

A would-be bank robber who walked out of a Hackensack TD branch empty-handed ended up with bracelets instead, authorities said.

Roderick Smith

Roderick Smith

Photo Credit: GoogleMaps Street View / HACKENSACK PD

City resident Roderick Troy Smith, 32, was nabbed by Hackensack police detectives and FBI agents who spotted him on Anderson Street on Tuesday, Feb. 7, Capt. Michael Antista said on Thursday.

It began around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 18, when a man walked into the TD Bank at the corner of University Plaza Drive and River Street, passed a note to a teller demanding money and said he was armed with a gun, the captain said.

The robber was denied and took off, said Antista, the officer in charge of the department.

City detectives were joined by FBI agents and members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, who collected evidence.

Hackensack Police Detective Sgt. Francesco Tripodi and Detective Demetrius Carroll identified Smith -- who sports musical-note tattoos on his face -- with help from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Intelligence Unit, Antista said.

After that, it was just a matter of finding him -- which didn't take very long.

Smith has remained held in the Bergen County Jail, charged with robbery, making terroristic threats and weapons offenses, pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.

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