Windsor Police Investigating Similarities in Recent Bank Robberies

WINDSOR, CT — A bank robbery Tuesday morning in Windsor bears a striking similarity to one committed in town just over a month ago.

Police responded to a robbery in progress at Santander Bank in the Windsor Shopping Center at 578 Windsor Avenue at 8:58 a.m. Officers located and apprehended a suspect, later identified as Arthur Thompson, 59, of 33 Holmes Drive, Windsor, fleeing the scene on a bicycle on Windsor Avenue near Ford Road, Lt. Christopher McKee said.

Thompson was found to be in possession of a suspicious item that appeared consistent with an explosive device, McKee said.

The surrounding area was briefly closed off while the Hartford bomb squad responded to the scene and determined the device was only a facsimile and posed no threat. The area was re-opened to the public a short time later.

Thompson was charged with first-degree robbery, fourth-degree larceny, first-degree breach of peace and second-degree threatening. He is being held on $100,000 bond, and will be arraigned Wednesday in Enfield Superior Court.

The money stolen from the bank was recovered on scene, McKee said.

On Aug. 23, the same bank was robbed by a black man, described as being in his mid-50s to mid-60s, at nearly the exact same time - 9:05 a.m. That suspect was seen leaving the shopping center on a small BMX-style bicycle.

McKee said detectives are currently working on the possibility that the same person may have been responsible for both robberies.

Photo courtesy of Windsor Police Department