Warrant: Man charged in Jewett City bank robbery used money for rent, drugs and flowers for daughter's grave
Nov. 4—State police said a 39-year-old Plainfield man charged with the July robbery of a Jewett City bank and a second bank robbery in August confessed to using the stolen money on rent, drugs and flowers for his daughter's grave, according to a state police report.
Robert Doyle, of 203 Prospect St., in the Moosup section of town, was charged on Nov. 1 with second-degree robbery, disorderly conduct and fourth-degree larceny in connection with the July 14 robbery of the Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank, 1 Slater Ave.
He is also charged with a second-degree robbery, third-degree larceny and second-degree breach of peace in the robbery of a Mansfield bank in August.
According to an arrest warrant application, a man, later identified by police as Doyle, entered the Jewett City bank at approximately 3:50 p.m. and displayed a sign to a teller demanding money before fleeing with approximately $1,240 in cash.
Witnesses later told police they recalled seeing a man matching the suspect's description in the area of the bank on the day of the robbery and "acting strange," the affidavit states.
At approximately 11:27 a.m. Aug. 4, police responded to the KeyBank at 6 Storrs Road in Mansfield for a report of a robbery carried out in a similar way as the one in Jewett City.
Police said several witnesses identified Doyle as a suspect caught on surveillance video leaving the banks.
A search and seizure warrant used to track Doyle's location through cellphone data showed him in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Aug. 16. He was arrested by Michigan state police and extradited back to Connecticut.
During an Aug. 31 interview with state police detectives at Troop C in Tolland, Doyle confessed to the Jewett City robbery and stated the note he passed to a teller read: "Everyone's life is in your hands; no dye packs or tracking devices; give me what you can; my life is upside down," the affidavit states.
Doyle said he used the stolen money to pay his rent, with the remainder going for "weed, coke and a large flower bouquet for my daughter's grave," police said.
Police said Doyle also confessed to robbing the Mansfield bank after running out of money.
Court records show Doyle was charged Aug. 31 with second-degree robbery, third-degree larceny and second-degree breach of peace in connection with the KeyBank robbery. That case is being heard in Rockville Superior Court.
Doyle is being held on a $300,000 bond in the Jewett City case and is due next in Norwich Superior Court on Nov. 16.
