Published: 2/26/2021 3:18:57 PM
NORTHAMPTON — A Charlemont man suspected of robbing a King Street bank in broad daylight Thursday was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to a charge of armed and masked robbery on Friday morning.
In a teleconference, Northampton District Court Judge Maureen Walsh ordered David W. Jones Jr., 38, held without the right to bail in advance of a dangerous hearing scheduled for March 3.
Jones is accused of stealing an undisclosed amount of money from the People’s United Bank on King Street late Thursday morning, then fleeing the scene in a pick-up truck.
“I can’t give you the amount,” said Northampton Police Lt. Alan Borowski on Friday. “I don’t like the bad guys to know how much they can get from a bank robbery.”
There was a weapon involved and the suspect was entirely covered up and not just wearing a face mask for COVID-19, he said.
“Basically, the suspect came in demanding the teller release the money and there was a threat made so the charge is armed robbery while masked because he was covered up," Borowski said.
“Jones is alleged to have demanded money from a teller, implying that he had a gun,” Mary Carey, a spokesperson for the Northwestern district attorney's office, wrote in an email after Jones’ arraignment.
Northampton police responded to People’s United Bank at 43 King St. at 11:23 a.m. for a report of a bank robbery. Surveillance video allowed police to get a license plate number for the vehicle they say Jones fled in, Borowski said, and the State Police found the vehicle outside a residence on Heath Stage Road in Charlemont.
State Trooper John Olari, assigned to the State Police-Shelburne Falls barracks, found Jones there who matched the description of the bank robbery suspect and placed him under arrest, according to State Police.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.