Crime & Safety

Union Square Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested in New Hampshire

The suspect in the Saturday morning robbery of Citizens Bank in Union Square was arrested early Tuesday morning at a Red Roof Inn in Salem, N.H.

The suspect in the Saturday morning robbery of Citizens Bank in Union Square was arrested early Tuesday morning at a Red Roof Inn in Salem, N.H., Somerville Police announced Tuesday morning.

The suspect had already served time in federal prison for a previous bank robbery, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

The suspect, Michael Tucker, 45, was identified from the Citizens Bank surveillance photo by Westwood Police—he had been caught on video allegedly stealing lottery tickets from a Shell gas station, according to Westwood Police.

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An arrest in New Hampshire

Tucker was located at the hotel overnight, and agents from the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, U.S. Marshals Service, Somerville Police and Salem Police converged on the hotel. Tucker was charged with violating a federal parole, and he will also be charged with the Somerville Citizens Bank robbery, police said.

Salem Police released a statement from the U.S. Marshal's Service regarding Tucker's arrest, saying he was arrested without incident at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

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According to the statement, Tucker "was wanted for several felonies that occurred in several different jurisdictions in Massachusetts over the past two weeks."

This includes the burglary at the Westwood gas station on Oct. 4 in addition to the Somerville bank robbery.

"In addition to these crimes, Tucker was wanted for violating the condition of his supervised release," the U.S. Marshal's Service said in the statement. "Tucker was on federal supervision for a bank robbery conviction in which he spent 151 months in federal prison."

Tucker was presented at the Federal Courthouse in Boston before a magistrate following his arrest, according to authorities.

Saturday's robbery

The Union Square robbery happened at the Citizens Bank, at 40 Union Square in the heart of the business district, at about 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13.

According to a press release sent by Somerville Police on Saturday afternoon, he slipped the teller a note demanding cash and saying he had a gun. He then fled through the back exit of the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Saturday morning is one of the busiest times of the week in the square, with the farmers market around the corner usually attracting large crowds of shoppers. The square's cafes and businesses are usually buzzing with activity on a Saturday morning.

"We have three very good photos of this guy," Somerville Police Deputy Chief Paul Upton previously told Somerville Patch. However, the suspect "looked like any other person in Union Square on a Saturday," he said.

Robert Rosen of Westwood Patch contributed to this report.


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