By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
LAWRENCE — A Trenton man who went on a bank-robbing spree in Lawrence and Trenton was arrested Tuesday afternoon, along with his accomplice, at a house on Barnett Road in Lawrence, according to Chief of Police Mark Ubry and Trenton Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr.
Martin Brown, 56, of Trenton, and Bienka Jean-Charles, 27, of Lawrence, were each charged with two counts of second-degree robbery and two counts of third-degree theft in connection with the two Lawrence bank robberies — one that occurred on Aug. 3 and another one that occurred Tuesday morning.
Charges are pending against Mr. Brown for the Trenton bank robbery.
The duo was arrested at 2 p.m. Tuesday by Lawrence police officers, shortly after they robbed the PNC Bank at 2431 Main St., on the corner of Main Street and Lawrenceville-Pennington Road. The robbery was reported at 11:47 a.m., police said.
Allegedly, Mr. Brown had walked into the PNC Bank shortly before noon Tuesday, and handed a note to the teller demanding money, police said. The teller gave him $4,987 in cash. He fled the bank on foot and got into a dark-colored Honda CRV that was driven by Ms. Jean-Charles.
Lawrence police officers and detectives responded to the PNC Bank, and saw Mr. Brown and Ms. Jean-Charles in the Honda CRV. Police saw them drive to a house on Barnett Road, and that’s where they were taken into custody without incident.
Through further investigation, police discovered that Mr. Brown was allegedly the man who robbed the Santander Bank at 121 Franklin Corner Road, on the corner of Franklin Corner Road and Princeton Pike, around noon on Aug. 3.
Police said Mr. Brown walked into the Santander Bank and handed the teller a note demanding money, and was given $6,090. He fled the bank on foot and was observed getting into a dark-colored Honda CRV, driven by Ms. Jean-Charles.
On Aug. 11, Mr. Brown allegedly entered a branch of the Bank of America on Hamilton Avenue in Trenton. He handed the teller a note demanding money, and was given about $5,000, police said. He fled the bank on foot, headed toward Columbus Park.
In each of the incidents, police said Mr. Brown was wearing a fake mustache and large sunglasses. He also wore a bushy wig and baseball cap during the Santander Bank robbery, but a multi-colored hat with fake dreadlocks when he robbed the PNC Bank and the Bank of America in Trenton, police said.
After their arrests, Mr. Brown and Ms. Jean-Charles were taken to the Mercer County Correction Center. Mr. Brown’s bail was set at $150,000 bail, cash or bond. Ms. Jean-Charles’s bail was set at $100,000, cash or bond.
The investigation was conducted by Lawrence Township Police Department and Trenton Police Department detectives, with help from the New Jersey Division of Parole and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Police ask that anyone with information on the robberies should call the Lawrence Township Police Department at (609) 896-1111.
