Ohio Pair Arrested for Robbery Spree Including North East, Westfield Banks
Two Ohio men face federal charges for 15 bank robberies across five states including two in North East and one in Westfield, N.Y.
DeAndre Thorington, 32, and Jeremy Martin, 30, committed the robberies between Feb. 11 and June 6, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Michigan.
Thorington is accused of physically robbing the banks while Martin allegedly drove the getaway vehicle.
The pair robbed Community Bank in Westfield on April 8, Widget Financial in North East on April 28 and KeyBank in North East on May 6, the complaint said.
Sheriff deputies in Ohio took the pair into custody following a high-speed chase in early June, federal investigators said.
Information on the local robberies from the criminal complaint
Community Bank robbery
At approximately 3:01 p.m. on April 8, 2022, Westfield Police Department responded to the Community Bank N.A. located at 70 E. Main St., in Westfield, NY for a robbery alarm. Officers interviewed the teller who was victim to the robbery. The teller stated she observed a male come in the front door and greet her. The SUSPECT stated he needed to make a withdraw. The teller asked if the withdrawal would be from the checking or savings account. The SUSPECT replied, savings. The teller turned away from the SUSPECT to obtain a withdraw slip. When the teller turned back around the SUSPECT had placed a note on the counter. The note was written on a light brown napkin and stated, “give me the money, no dye packs, I have a gun.” The teller provided the SUSPECT with the
money from her drawer, totaling approximately $953 dollars. The SUSPECT put the money in his pocket and exited the bank. A Community Bank N.A. security investigator provided the official count of money stolen on April 8, 2022, as $2,104 dollars.Widget Financial robbery
On April 28, 2022, at approximately 11:27 a.m., the Widget Financial located at 5 Grant Street, North East, PA was robbed. The victim teller described the SUSPECT robber as a black male, approximately 6’2”, 25 years old, 170 pounds, with brown eyes, bushy eyebrows, and a slender build. The SUSPECT placed a note on the counter which read something to the effect, “I am armed give me everything in the register.” The victim teller complied with the demands and gave the SUSPECT approximately $2,249 dollars. The SUSPECT took the demand note and exited the bank, last seen on foot. A review of the bank security camera footage revealed the SUSPECT was wearing a grey stocking cap, grey jacket, ripped blue jeans, and white shoes and a blue surgical type face mask.
KeyBank robbery
On May 6, 2022, at approximately 1:26 p.m., the KeyBank Branch located at 27 E. Main Street, North East, PA was robbed. The victim teller described the robber SUSPECT as a black male, between 6’ - 6’2” with an athletic build approximately 30 years old. The SUSPECT placed a note on the counter which read something to the effect of, “Empty your drawer. I’m armed. No dye packs.” The victim teller complied and gave the SUSPECT some cash. The SUSPECT looked at the cash and then asked victim teller “Where’s in 100’s at”. The teller told the SUSPECT he didn’t have any. The SUSPECT then stated, “Yeah you do. Don’t make me pull this out”. The victim teller understood that to be a threat to use a firearm. The victim teller then retrieved a stack of 100 dollar bills. The SUSPECT took approximately $3,692 dollars along with the demand note and exited the bank. A review of the bank security camera footage revealed the SUSPECT was wearing a black Nike ¾ zip pull over, a red shirt, grey sweatpants, white shoes and a black surgical type face mask.
A further review of the bank surveillance video revealed that the SUSPECT had a tattoo on the left side of his neck which reads “Blessed”. Above the word “Blessed” is a symbol which is not clearly identifiable from the video surveillance images.