Robert Fitzpatrick, 33, of Elizabeth was charged with robbing the Wells Fargo branch on Main Avenue near the Clifton Commons mall off Route 3 shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, Detective Sgt. Robert Anderson said.
Moments earlier, he'd handed a teller a note demanding cash and fled with undisclosed proceeds, Anderson said.
No weapon was shown, he said.
Sgt. Bruce Lawson was headed to the call when he spotted Fitzpatrick, who fit the robber's description -- and captured him.
Fitzpatrick was being taken to the Passaic County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson.
Clifton detectives were investigating with assistance from the FBI, Anderson said.
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UPDATE: A Cleveland man out on bail after robbing a bank outside Chicago cut off his monitoring bracelet, stole his mother's car and went on a holdup spree in New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, federal authorities said.
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