By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 2, 1991
The Record (New Jersey) | 6 Star | NEWS | Page B01
Two months to the day after he jumped over a bank counter in Teaneck and stole about $10,000, police say, Alfred N. Ferguson returned Tuesday afternoon and repeated the routine, getting about $5,000.
This time, however, Ferguson was captured when employees at the Oritani Savings & Loan Association at 560 Cedar Lane telephoned police. A patrol car pulled over the suspect’s car about a mile away.
Ferguson, 34, of Jersey City, gave police a lengthy statement admitting both robberies, said Lt. Warren White, head of the Teaneck Detective Bureau. The FBI questioned the suspect, who will be charged under federal statutes.
Police said Ferguson entered the bank at about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, startling the two tellers and one customer as he vaulted over the counter. Those same two tellers had been working behind the counter on Aug. 1, when the first robbery occurred.
That day, at about 11:15 a.m., Ferguson wearing a dark baseball cap and sunglasses and displaying a small revolver allegedly jumped over the counter and announced, “Yo, yo, this is a robbery! Stand back so no one gets hurt! ” About $10,000 was stolen.
He did not have a gun Tuesday, said Capt. Gary Fiedler, but he was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, a baseball cap, and a blue bandana, Fiedler said.
Without saying a word, Ferguson allegedly proceeded to take wads of cash from the teller drawers before leaping back over the counter and fleeing.
Detective Sgt. Robert Adomilli and Detective Francis McCall were in an unmarked patrol car around Windsor and Beverly roads when they heard a broadcast of the robbery and a description of the suspect.
The detectives then saw the suspect’s black 1984 Buick leaving a parking spot about a 1 1/2 blocks ahead on Beverly Road, Adomilli said. The driver went west, turning north on River Road.
Adomilli said that as the car moved along at 10 mph, the two lawmen pulled up behind and then alongside it only to hear Ferguson yell: “What, am I speeding? ”
“We answered back, `Yes, you are speeding.”
With weapon drawn, McCall approached the suspect after he pulled his car to a stop. The detective then instructed him to place his hands on the wheel.
“He did everything we asked him to do,” McCall said.
Tuesday’s robbery was the fifth in Bergen County since Aug. 1. On Labor Day weekend, there was a break-in at an Urban National Bank branch in Franklin Lakes. The safe-deposit vault was looted in that instance.
Keywords: TEANECK; BANK; ROBBERY
ID: 17356968 | Copyright © 1991, The Record (New Jersey)
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