Bank Robber Caught After Franklin Police Track Cab He Is Riding In: Prosecutor

FRANKLIN, NJ — A South Brunswick man was arrested in connection with a bank robbery in Franklin Township on Thursday afternoon, said Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.

IvanM. Baerga Jr., 46, of South Brunswick, was charged with second-degree robbery.

On Feb. 9 at around 2:49 p.m., Franklin Township Police got a call reporting a robbery had occurred at a bank on Route 27 in the Township.

An unknown man entered the bank and passed a note to the bank teller demanding $5,000 in cash, according to the report.

The bank teller turned over an undisclosed amount of money to the man, who then fled. No injuries were reported.

Franklin Township Police Officers and Detectives along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, and the Crime Scene Investigation Unit found that the man had used a cab to get to the bank.

The cab was located in North Brunswick and police learned that the same man had also taken the cab from the bank and was still inside the cab with the cab driver, said McDonald.

The suspect, identified as Baerga, was found inside a store on Route 1 in North Brunswick, said McDonald.

Baerga was taken into custody without incident along with the cash from the bank robbery, said McDonald.

Baerga was taken to the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing in this matter.

Anyone with information relating to this bank robbery to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-5533 or via the STOPit app.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

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