LISBON – A man robbed the Main Street branch of TD Banknorth in Lisbon Falls on Tuesday and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.
The robber, who wore a cap and sunglasses, handed a teller a note around 9 a.m. demanding money. After stuffing the cash in his coat pocket, he walked out of the bank and turned right in the direction of downtown and Route 196, police said.
The man said he was armed but never showed any weapon, police said.
Police released surveillance photos showing the man entering the bank, pocketing a wad of bills and leaving.
The man bore a striking resemblance to the man in surveillance photos from a Feb. 3 robbery at the Auburn Savings and Loan on Sabattus Street in Lewiston.
The faded blue ball cap with gray bill, sunglasses and dark bluish-green jacket appear to be the same. He was described as 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 180 to 200 pounds.
In the earlier heist, the man is sporting a goatee.
In Tuesday’s photo, the man’s cheeks are unshaven.
In the earlier photo, the man is wearing jeans.
On Tuesday, the man is wearing Adidas wind pants.
The man in the Lewiston robbery also threatened but showed no weapon.
Lisbon police Sgt. Harry Moore said authorities are investigating similarities between the two incidents. There may be a link to a third robbery, in November, at the TD Banknorth branch at Shaw’s Supermarket on Center Street in Auburn, Moore said.
This marks the fifth time a bank was robbed in the greater Lewiston-Auburn area since last fall.
“There seems to be a rash of these,” Lisbon police Chief David Brooks said.
Lisbon detectives spent most of the day at the Main Street bank where they interviewed workers and gathered evidence. They called in FBI agents, standard protocol in bank robberies, Moore said.
They wrapped yellow crime scene tape around the bushes at the entrance to the bank. Customers walked and drove by, stopping and staring at the sight.
An 8- by 11-inch sign on the door read: “This office is temporarily closed. Please visit our nearest office.”
“They’re closed,” Chief Brooks told one man who stopped on the sidewalk.
“Robbery or something?” the man asked.
“Robbed,” Brooks said.
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