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Hackensack police took 53-year-old Michael Hall into custody following a violent struggle after they found him hiding in a garbage bin behind a Route 4 strip mall in Paramus.
Moments earlier, a Teaneck officer who stopped the getaway car arrested the driver.
The accused robbers, who were being held on $500,000 bail each, have 22 felony convictions between them, records show. Authorities said they are trying to determine whether they may have been responsible for other bank holdups in the area.
Englewood police got the 911 bank robbery call from the Chase Bank branch on Grand Avenue just after 12:30 p.m. yesterday, Detective Capt. Timothy Torell said.
Hall (above, left), who was wearing a disguise, had just fled with the cash after passing a note, he said.
“A very courageous and dedicated bank manager followed the suspect through the city’s busy downtown area for about two blocks and saw him get into a waiting red Nissan Altima on South Dean Street,” Torell said.
Englewood police issued a description of Hall and the car over the State Police Emergency Network, the captain said.
Teaneck Police Detective Stephen Ramirez, who was working patrol for the day to assist with manpower demands, heard the bulletin after the pair fled, spotted the red Altima on the westbound highway near River Road and eventually stopped it in Paramus near the Jewelry Exchange, Lt. Andrew McGurr told CLIFFVIEW PILOT yesterday.
Both occupants bailed out, he said.
Ramirez grabbed the driver, identified as Clarence Jones, 46 (above, right), and broadcast a description of the fleeing passenger, who headed behind the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant.
A short time later, Hackensack Police Sgt. Niles Malvasia and Officer Ralph Cavallo grabbed Hall after a brief but violent struggle, city Police Director Michael Mordaga told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
An ambulance was called for Hall, who had undetermined injuries, Mordaga said.
Both men are charged with bank robbery and Hall with resisting arrest, as well.
The Altima was impounded with the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification until Englewood detectives could obtain a warrant.
“There is a significant amount of cash visible in the vehicle,” Torell said. “We anticipate recovering most, if not all of the proceeds, along with other key evidence in the case, such as a disguise that Hall wore when he committed the robbery.”
MUGSHOTS: Courtesy ENGLEWOOD PD
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