15 Years For Man Who Robbed Lincroft, Eatontown, Keyport Banks

LINCROFT, NJ — A local man who committed a spree of Monmouth County bank robberies in the early winter of 2021 has now been sentenced for his crimes.

As previously reported, Conor Kavanagh, 31, of Colts Neck, robbed the Wells Fargo banks in Lincroft and Eatontown, and the PNC Bank branch inside the Keyport Stop & Shop.

Kavanagh was sentenced Friday, July 7 to 15 years in prison by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph Oxley. He will be required to serve at least 85 percent of the first 12 years of the prison term.

And Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said it was Middletown Police detectives who were instrumental in identifying him as the suspect, and in making his arrest.

Kavanagh was indicted in March of 2022, and he pleaded guilty to all three on January 30, 2023.

The prosecutor says Kavanagh committed three robberies, all within a month of each other in the late fall/early winter of 2021:

• Shortly after 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, 2021, he approached the teller window at the PNC Bank inside the Stop & Shop on Rt. 36 in Keyport. Kavanagh passed a note indicating he was in possession of a weapon and made off with a quantity of cash, leaving the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck.
• Then, at approximately 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, prosecutors say he robbed the Wells Fargo on Newman Springs Road in the Lincroft section of Middletown. The bank robbery was committed in an identical fashion to the earlier one in Keyport, with the suspect wearing similar clothing and also leaving the scene in a green Toyota pick-up truck.
• Three days later, on Friday, December 17, the Wells Fargo branch on Rt. 36 in Eatontown was robbed. Again, a suspect matching that same description passed a note demanding money, indicating he was in possession of a weapon.

Following the Lincroft bank robbery, Middletown Police detectives developed information that led to Kavanagh being identified as a potential suspect. After the bank robbery in Eatontown, Middletown detectives and FBI agents said they observed Kavanagh driving a green pick-up that matched the description of the vehicle used in the earlier bank robberies.

He was then placed under arrest.

Detectives searched the green pick-up and located proceeds from the Eatontown bank robbery and clothing he had been seen wearing on the banks' surveillance footage.

Police also located information pertaining to a storage unit in Shrewsbury; a search of the storage unit revealed proceeds from the Keyport and Middletown bank robberies. Additionally, a search of the cell phone Kavanagh was using contained evidence of online searches for local bank branches.

Prosecutor Santiago said he wanted to thank police in Middletown, Eatontown and Keyport, as well as members of the FBI’s Newark office.

The case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan. Kavanagh was represented by Edwin Wu, Esq., with an office in Freehold borough.