Rookie Cop Charged In $113,000 Bank Heist

NYPD Officer Accused Of Gunpoint Robbery Of Pennsylvania Bank

(CBS/AP)  A New York City police officer made off with $113,000 in an armed bank heist Thursday but was arrested a few blocks away, police in northeast Pennsylvania said.

Rookie officer Christian Torres, 21, had his New York Police Department badge and identification card on him when he was arrested, Muhlenberg Township police said. A bag of cash was found on the front seat of his car, they said.

Torres was off work Thursday and used a personal handgun in the crime, according to police in the township, that is about 120 miles from New York City. He confronted a Sovereign Bank employee as she opened up the branch at about 8 a.m., the FBI said.

He forced bank employees to take him to the vault, then stuffed large bills in a white shopping bag and fled in the car, officials said.

Torres was pulled over after bank employees pointed out his vehicle to police responding to a silent alarm. He had a gun in his waistband when he was arrested, police said.

Torres, who lives in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, was charged with robbery, assault, a weapons count and other charges and sent to the Berks County Prison, with bail set at $500,000 bail.

"I can't believe it happened," Torres' neighbor, Chris Salcedo, told the New York Daily News. "He talked a lot about being a cop. He said he wanted to do good stuff for people."

District Justice Dean R. Patton said, "He was not any different from anyone else I arraign. He was respectful, though."

Torres invoked his Fifth Amendment right and did not give a statement to police, according to Officer Joel Marino, a Muhlenberg Township police spokesman.

"He wasn't talking," Marino said.

A defense lawyer contacted police on Torres' behalf, but the lawyer's name was not immediately available, he said.

Torres joined the transit division in January after starting at the police academy in July, the New York Police Department confirmed. Department officials otherwise declined comment.

Township police said they did not know of any connections Torres had to the area, and they said he had stayed at a nearby motel.

No one was injured in the robbery.

[twogunsono1g]

Anyone who spells it "dummer" when the word is "dumber" should go to the dumber thread! Seriously, the level of the postings is going downhill rapidly here. I''''m sure this will tick off some of you but I don''''t care. Spell checking programs exist for a reason (note: spellcheck actually isn''''t a word) and the majority of the population needs to learn basic grammar, punctuation, and spelling.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Puzzler125 at 07:33 PM : Apr 11, 2008

why? If not for us dumb people you would not be so smart. You would just be average, smarties need dummies to make them smarties.

two guns son of one gun

[ranger1948]

Now he has been charged with more bank robberies.

[pfd572]

fibonacci: where did you come up with a statement like that? I didn''t know whether to laugh at you or pity your point of view. All these rogue, criminal cops committing crimes must be lucky, they aren''t in the news. (irony, in case you missed it)

[pfd572]

Police and fire depts. are in a personnel crunch. Equipment is obsolete. Too many experienced and proven officers and firefighters are being ''asked'' to take early retirement to save money. Pro-active programs are being canceled. So they are saving money by hiring unproven and under-qualified candidates to fill hundreds of empty positions. Its a catch-22 and a desperate time for local governments. You can thank the current administration for the economic mess that is forcing these changes.

[pfd572]

carpriddler: take a minute of you obviously large amount of free time and check/compare salaries in the private sector vs the public sector. There is a vast difference. Why do you think so many government employees leave to enter the private sector? Its because their salaries in government are a joke, unless you are a political appointment, a Judge or in the upper, upper levels. Please, get the facts before you speak. I was a hazardous materials tech, an emergency responder and a certified on WMD and NBC before I retired. We are the first line of defense for your safety. Yet, I could have made a minimum of $30,000 more in the private sector. I chose not to quit and run because I believe what I was doing was too important. So, in all due respect, shut up about what you have no credibility.

[ranger1948]

All police departments have what is called internal affairs. They police the police. Sure occassionally a bad egg gets thru but they usually catch them pretty quick. Yiou see a cop never knows if a situatiion is for real or if it is a setup by internal affairs. Anyone attmepting to break the law whenthey are a cop is dumber than the criminals they chase. I believe most officers have a high ethics standard and adhere to it.. By th way Las Vegas starts it officers at 53k as soon as they graduate the academy. Probably the highest paid police department in the country, and i must say from what i saw they were an outstanding police department.

[puzzler125]

Anyone who spells it "dummer" when the word is "dumber" should go to the dumber thread! Seriously, the level of the postings is going downhill rapidly here. I''m sure this will tick off some of you but I don''t care. Spell checking programs exist for a reason (note: spellcheck actually isn''t a word) and the majority of the population needs to learn basic grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

[prinzowhales]

I wonder what ''quality control'' will find when they audit his background check....Did they farm it out to a private corporation?...One with a sheep dog...if he licks your hand, you''re in and will make a good cop... if he doesn''t...go back to washing dishes.

With things like this...we need to make the psych inventory public...this is unreal...a stupid heist at that! They missed something big time....of course, I understand they are trying to make hires that don''t have very much on the ball and follow and don''t question orders...

[jetlizhan]

the brazen stupidity of mankind never ceases to amaze me.

[carpriddler]

More money! More money! That is all you government workers think about. I can''t do my job without more money. Try it in the civilian world. You people are no different then the welfare people you love to put down. I would rather pay someone to be on welfare then to be a dysfunctional bureacrat.

[redbds]

If I had to guess I would actually say that cops are MORE likely to commit crimes that people who arent cops.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by fibonacci_ at 02:40 PM : Apr 11, 2008

That would be a very bad guess.

[redbds]

I guess that I am in the wrong discussion thread. You are all way too smart for me. Which thread should the dumb people go to?

[fibonacci_]

If I had to guess I would actually say that cops are MORE likely to commit crimes that people who arent cops.

[carpriddler]

Everyday we are bombarded by stories of criminal cops, not just from the media, but by retired cops, lawyers, DA%u2019s (The ones they call disgruntled employees), and public at large. The police are their own worst enemies for allowing a culture that breeds corruption. Name another job that someone could get away with the things cops do, and not end up in jail. I expect a hire standard from the police and if they don%u2019t like it, get another job like the rest of would have to do.

[redbds]

The real crime is that the NYPD pay for rookie police is less than the same city pays is sanitation workers. As a New Yorker, I know he was probably just trying to get a place to stay!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by milesbrown49 at 01:40 PM : Apr 11, 2008

While I agree that many police are under paid, there is no excuse for him to rob a bank. No matter what a persons circumstances are there is no excuse for turning to crime.

[honestabe8]

As he is a cop (or former cop now) he should have lots of big people standing behind him in the joint, while other big people hold him down.

[redbds]

tperkpa & redbds Is the public suppose to support the criminal thugs in law enforcement as a condition of using police service? Why shouldn%u2019t someone that wants justice for all expect a cop to do his duty by protecting and serving the public and not hiding behind the %u201CBlue Code of Silence%u201D and union thugs.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by carpriddler at 01:54 PM : Apr 11, 2008

This article has nothing to do with police corruption as a general concept. This is one rookie cop who robbed a bank and got caught. If you think that the union or police department will stand behind and defend him then you have been watching too many corrupt cop movies. This guy should rot in jail for the next 20 years. Nothing in my posting eludes to supporting corrupt police as a cost of using police services. Many in this discussion thread are quick to assume this incident is typical of the corruption that exists in police agencies. It simply is not.

[honestabe8]

no doubt, this is going to reflect poorly on his yearly review.

[carpriddler]

tperkpa & redbds Is the public suppose to support the criminal thugs in law enforcement as a condition of using police service? Why shouldn%u2019t someone that wants justice for all expect a cop to do his duty by protecting and serving the public and not hiding behind the %u201CBlue Code of Silence%u201D and union thugs.

[milesbrown49]

The real crime is that the NYPD pay for rookie police is less than the same city pays is sanitation workers. As a New Yorker, I know he was probably just trying to get a place to stay!!