Police Investigating Bank Robbery In Harrison

Harrison police are searching for a man who robbed a Chase branch on Halstead Avenue Thursday morning.

Officers responded to the 402 Halstead Ave. bank a few minutes after 10 a.m. after receiving reports of a man who walked into the branch and handed a bank teller a note saying "I have a weapon and I am not afraid to use it," police say.

The teller complied with the man, giving him an unspecified amount of money. The man was in and out of the bank in "probably less than a minute," according to Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini. The man never showed the weapon and no one was hurt.

Police say the man left on foot in an unknown direction. Within a few minutes of the call, the bank was circled by marked and unmarked police cruisers, with patrolmen cordoning off the front of the building with crime scene tape.

"It's unfortunate, but desperate people do desperate things," Marraccini said.

Harrison Police put out a hotline to surrounding departments hoping to generate leads. A police K-9 was on the scene circling the bank. A mobile command unit was parked in front of the bank for several hours and police continued surveillance in the area for most of the afternoon. Marraccini said it is likely that the man is from somewhere close to Harrison.

"What we have is that obviously he was under a lot of stress, was probably contemplating what he was going to do for some time and made the move," Marraccini said.

On Thursday afternoon police were continuing a "thorough canvassing" of the surrounding area. A police helicopter was flying over the area as well, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

The man was not wearing gloves in the bank and police are also looking at fingerprint and DNA evidence at this time.

The robber (pictured above) is identified as a white, middle-aged, male, about 5'9" and wearing a gray T-shirt with the letters YMCA printed in red letters across the front.

Dennis Nardone lives next door, at 470 Halstead Ave. He said he was reading Harrison Patch and listening to his police scanner when he heard police chatter about the robbery, then decided to walk over to see the scene in person.

Nardone has an account at the bank and knows the tellers.

"I knew it was going to happen because they've been hitting Chase banks all over the county, and it was just a matter of time," Nardone said.

A woman who identified herself as Naomi said she's been banking at the Halstead Avenue location for three years and was heading to the bank Thursday morning when she saw the commotion.

"My guess is somebody's broke and went to do something stupid," she said. "In this economy, people are losing their minds."

This is the second robbery involving a Halstead Avenue Chase Bank this year. On March 3, police believe two men  from a woman who was walking from the Chase location at 275 Halstead Avenue to her vehicle on Purdy Street. There have been no arrests in that case.

Anyone who knows the identity of the man pictured or who has information about this morning's robbery is encouraged to call Harrison Police at (914)-967-5110.