A Manhattan man has admitted to robbing a bank in Jackson in 2013 and he will be sentenced for that crime and others later this year.
On Aug. 15, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced that Eddy Cruz, 42, admitted to robbing the bank in Jackson, and banks in Fort Lee and Hasbrouck Heights, and he admitted attempting to burglarize a bank in Englewood between December 2013 and February 2017.
Cruz pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with three counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank burglary.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, on Dec. 24, 2013, Cruz entered a PNC Bank in Jackson and handed a teller a note demanding money. After the teller handed him some cash, Cruz fled the scene.
Cruz robbed a TD Bank in Fort Lee on Feb. 13, 2017 and a TD Bank in Hasbrouck Heights on Feb. 18, 2017. During both robberies, Cruz wore a mask to disguise his identity and handed the tellers a note demanding cash.
On Feb. 24, 2017, law enforcement officers tracked Cruz’s car, which had been spotted at one of the earlier bank robberies, to a location in Manhattan. That same day, Cruz drove to a TD Bank in Englewood where he was apprehended moments before he robbed the bank in a similar disguise to what he wore during the previous two bank robberies.
The bank robbery and attempted bank burglary counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 27, according to the U.S. Attorney.
