WASHINGTON — A man tied to a string of bank robberies in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties was arrested Thursday after he parked next to a police sergeant who had spent the morning investigating the man’s involvement in a New Carrollton bank heist.
Leroy Earl-Morris Daley, 45, of Palmer Park, was still wearing the same clothes he wore when he robbed a bank on Annapolis Road as he walked out of a retail eyewear shop and headed toward the car believed to have been used in the robbery, police say. The car was parked next to an unmarked squad car belonging to Prince George’s County Sgt. Craig Winegardner, who had stopped at the Glenarden shopping plaza to grab some lunch.
“I thought there was no way it’s gonna be this easy to close this big bank robbery string, but it absolutely was,” said Winegardner, a robbery detective, during a news conference Friday.
“I think it was a very bold move on his part to come up here in broad daylight with so many police cruisers; this is a very popular place for police officers to eat,” Winegardner said.
Police Chief Hank Stawinski said paying attention pays offs when it comes to catching criminals.
Daley was taken into custody without incident. He was being held on initial charges out of Montgomery County for strong arm robbery and two counts of armed bank robbery. Police say more charges will likely be filed.
Police believe that Daley robbed three banks in less than 20 minutes in Montgomery County after the bank robbery in New Carrollton.
He’s also believed to be responsible for four other bank robberies in Prince George’s County since September. In all, Prince George’s police say he’s gotten away with $18,000 in cash.
Detectives nicknamed the rash of robberies the “Hashtag String” because of notations the robber made on the demand notes.
Police say Daley left hashtags on the notes he handed to tellers including messages like “#nopolice,” and “#becarefull (sic).” Some of the notes also suggested that Daley was armed.
Sgt. Craig Winegardner with PGPD was having lunch after investigating a bank robbery in New Carrolton. #WTOP pic.twitter.com/jIxREpgxzv
— Mike Murillo (@MikeMurilloWTOP) March 11, 2016
WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report from Glenarden, Maryland. WTOP’s Amanda Iacone contributed to this report from Washington.
