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John Nottingham was turned over to the FBI after a caller seeking a reward tipped off the local CrimeStoppers group, Englewood Detective Capt. Timothy Torell said Monday.
Nottingham approached a teller at the Valley National Bank on Hackensack Avenue just before 12:30 p.m. Oct. 20 wearing a black watch cap, green jacket, and black gloves, with his face partially concealed by a gray cloth, authorities said at the time, Torell said.
He displayed what police at the time called "an unknown object wrapped in black duct tape" before fleeing with $10,000 that the teller put into a black canvas bag.
He then ran toward the Target across the street, got behind the wheel of what was believed to be a black 2018 Chevrolet Cruze, and drove off, police said.
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SEE: Hackensack police released new images of a man who they said robbed a Valley National Bank of $10,000 last month. They also released photos of his getaway car.
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The FBI obtained an arrest warant for Nottignham after Hackensack detectives, working with both the bureau and Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, identified him as the robber.
COURTESY: Hackensack PD
Efforts to find him Nottingham -- whose criminal history includes robbery and weapons offenses -- were unsuccessful, however.
Then, on Feb. 2, he robbed the Bank of America branch on Park Place in Englewood, Torell said.
The robber wore a hooded coat, a mask that hid most of his face and gloves, authorities said at the time. After collecting the cash, he walked out the same doors he entered and vanished from sight.
FBI agents noticed similarities in the two holdups, and Englewood police released surveillance video in the hopes that someone spotted or knew where to find him.
The video (see above) "shows the suspect walking south along Engle Street, without a mask, on the way to the robbery," Torell said.
"The images of the clean-shaven suspect strongly resembled Nottingham, who had a mustache during the Hackensack robbery," the captain said.
Bank of America, Park Place, Englewood (COURTESY: Googlemaps)
Crimestoppers -- which also covers Bergenfield, Bogota, Hackensack and Teaneck -- offered a reward of up to $1,000 leading to Nottingham's arrest.
Soon after, the winning tip came in.
On Feb. 15, city detectives arrested Nottingham at the ShopRite in the Palisade Court shopping complex.
Authorities searched a South Hackensack motel room where Nottingham had been staying and found evidence that linked him directly to the holdups -- including half of the money stolen in the Englewood Bank of America heist, Torell said.
A U.S. District Court judge in Newark ordered that Nottingham remain held pending trial. Federal charges were being filed, authorities said.
"This was a great example of an effective multi-jurisdictional investigation that resulted in two very serious crimes being solved," Torell said.
"CrimeStoppers once again played an important role in bringing a serious case to a successful conclusion by fostering help from the public in cooperation with our law enforcement officers," the captain said.
COURTESY: Hackensack PD
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RECOGNIZE HIM? (VIDEO) Authorities were trying to determine whether the burglary of an Englewood liquor store, captured on surveillance video, is related to the theft of cash from a lottery register by a man who covered himself in a huge sheet of plastic a little over a week earlier.
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