Prosecutor: Area 29-Year-Old Man Indicted on Bank Robbery Charges

A Colts Neck man has been indicted on charges that he committed three bank robberies in Monmouth County towns in the fall of 2021 over the course of roughly a month, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced on Tuesday.

Conor Kavanagh, 29, has been indicted on the charges of three counts of first-degree armed robbery. If convicted of any of these criminal charges, Kavanagh would face a term of up to 20 years in state prison.

The case background …

Shortly after 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, a person later identified as Kavanagh approached a teller window at the PNC Bank inside the Stop & Shop supermarket on Route 36 in Keyport, passed a note indicating he was in possession of a weapon, and fled with a quantity of cash, leaving the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck.

At about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14, a bank robbery occurred at the Wells Fargo branch on Newman Springs Road in the Lincroft section of Middletown. The bank robbery was committed in identical fashion to the earlier one in Keyport, with the suspect wearing similar clothing, and he also left the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck.

Three days later, on Friday, Dec. 17, the Wells Fargo branch on Route 36 in Eatontown was robbed. Again, a suspect passed a note demanding money, indicating that he was in possession of a weapon.

Following the bank robbery in Middletown, Detectives from the Middletown Police Department developed information that led to Kavanagh being identified as a potential suspect.

After the bank robbery in Eatontown, Middletown detectives and assisting members of the FBI observed Kavanagh driving a green pickup truck that matched the description of the vehicle used in the earlier bank robberies, and arrested him.

Detectives searched the truck and found proceeds from the Eatontown bank robbery and the clothing the suspect was seen wearing on surveillance footage. They also found information pertaining to a storage unit in Shrewsbury, and a search of the unit revealed proceeds from the Keyport and Middletown bank robberies. A search of the cell phone Kavanagh was using also contained evidence of online searches for local bank branches.

Anyone with information about Kavanagh’s activities is urged to contact MCPO Detective Brian Migliorisi or Detective Jason Gold toll-free at 800-533-7443.