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Kenneth R. Gayda Jr. was charged with robbery and making terroristic threats after the holdup at the Valley National Bank on Getty Avenue just before 1 p.m. Thursday, records show.
Police said he was carrying a bag when he entered the bank, "approached a teller and produced a threatening note demanding money and indicating that he was in possession of a bomb," Lt. Robert Bracken said.
The teller, in turn, handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, he said.
Two Corrado's employees saw him running and corner the robber, who tossed some of the cash and kept running toward South Paterson, Bracken said.
Paterson police and Passaic County sheriff's officers who also dispatched a K-9 unit helped establish a perimeter in the area of Genessee Avenue in Paterson, the lieutenant said.
A sheriff's officer eventually found him hiding in a Getty Avenue mosque with which he has no affiliation, Bracken said. Police found him carrying the rest of the money, he said.
The Passaic County Sheriff's CSI Unit and K-9 Unit collected evidence.
Gayda has a criminal record and last year served seven months in state prison for theft and throwing bodily fluids at four corrections officers at the Passaic County Jail, records show. He was released last November.
The FBI was exploring possible connections between Gayda and other area bank robberies.
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