FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ (Somerset County) – A 46-year-old Middlesex County man has been charged with robbing a Route 27 bank in Franklin township, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.
Ivan M. Baerga Jr. of South Brunswick was charged with second-degree robbery, McDonald said.
On Thursday, Feb. 9, at around 2:49 p.m., police received a call that a robbery had occurred at a bank located on Route 27 in Franklin Township. Baerga allegedly entered the bank and passed a note to the bank teller demanding $5,000 in cash, McDonald said.
The bank teller ultimately turned over an undisclosed amount of money to Baerga based on his demands and he subsequently fled the scene. No injuries were reported, McDonald said.
Detectives were able to determine that Baerga travelled by cab to the bank. Detectives quickly located the cab in North Brunswick and learned that he had also taken the cab from the bank and was still traveling in the cab with the cab driver, McDonald said.
Detectives were successful in locating Baerga within a store on Route 1 in North Brunswick. He was taken into custody without incident along with proceeds from the bank robbery, McDonald said.
Baerga was charged and then lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing, McDonald said.
