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Conor Kavanagh, 31, was convicted in connection with three robberies, all of which occurred within a month of each other in 2021, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago
Shortly after 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2021, an individual who was later identified as Kavanagh approached a teller window at the PNC Bank inside the Stop & Shop supermarket on Route 36 in Keyport. Kavanagh then passed a note indicating he was in possession of a weapon and made off with a quantity of cash, leaving the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck, Santiago said.
At approximately 4 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2021, a bank robbery occurred at the Wells Fargo branch on Newman Springs Road in the Lincroft section of Middletown. The bank robbery was committed in an identical fashion to the earlier one in Keyport, with the suspect wearing similar clothing and also leaving the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck, the prosecutor said.
Three days later, on Dec. 17, the Wells Fargo branch on Route 36 in Eatontown was robbed. Again, a suspect passed a note demanding money, indicating that he was in possession of a weapon, Santiago said.
Following the bank robbery in Middletown, detectives from the Middletown Police Department developed information that led to Kavanagh being identified as a potential suspect, Santiago said.
After the bank robbery in Eatontown, Middletown detectives and assisting members of the FBI observed Kavanagh driving a green pickup truck that matched the description of the vehicle used in the earlier bank robberies and placed him under arrest, Santiago said.
Detectives searched the pickup truck and located proceeds from the Eatontown bank robbery and the clothing the suspect was seen wearing on surveillance footage, the prosecutor said.
They also located information pertaining to a storage unit in Shrewsbury; a search of that location revealed proceeds from the Keyport and Middletown bank robberies, he said.
Additionally, a search of the cell phone Kavanagh was using contained evidence of online searches for local bank branches, Santiago said.
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