Photo courtesy of the Linden Police Department
LINDEN – Police detectives arrested a 53-year-old North Brunswick man on Tuesday who they believe is responsible for the Jan. 31 robbery of Northfield Bank on North Wood Avenue, authorities said.
Lawrence W. McLendon was charged with robbery and making terroristic threats; he was being held at Union County Jail in lieu of $120,000 bail. According to state Department of Corrections records, McLendon has three prior convictions for robbery and was released from his most recent prison term on Jan. 4.
In early April, detectives received information that helped them identify McLendon as a possible suspect in the bank robbery. After an eyewitness to the robbery identified McLendon, a warrant was issued for his arrest, police said.
On April 24, a team of detectives went to a motel on Route One in North Brunswick where McLendon was believed to be staying. After a brief surveillance operation, McLendon was stopped and identified before being placed under arrest without incident.
On Jan. 31 at 11:40 a.m., a man walked into the Northfield Bank branch and displayed a note to a teller demanding cash and indicating he had a gun. The teller handed him a few thousand dollars and he walked out of the bank. The robber was later observed on video surveillance footage from the nearby Dunkin Donuts entering a white compact vehicle in the parking lot and leaving the area.
The charges against McLendon are merely accusations; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
