"10K or You Die" read the note that 22-year-old Jose Cuevas of Paterson handed a teller at the Columbia Bank branch on Broadway on July 13, Sgt. Brian Metzler said.
Cuevas "grabbed his hip, making the teller believe that he was holding a weapon," Metzler said.
Detectives Brian Rypkema and Anthony Lugo identified Cuevas, who was carrying a 27-inch machete when he was arrested Tuesday night, Aug. 1, the sergeant said.
The proceeds from the robbery weren't recovered, he said.
Cuevas is charged with robbery, theft and illegal weapons possession.
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