Armed Robber Convicted For Burlington County Bank Holdup: Officials

PEMBERTON, NJ — Officials say a Browns Mills man has been convicted for stealing money from a Burlington County bank at gunpoint, and a beer bottle he dropped helped track him down.

A Burlington County Superior Court jury convicted Cortney Bell of first-degree robbery for the July 2019 robbery at TD Bank in Pemberton Borough, said Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.

Sentencing for Bell, 38, is scheduled for April 21, officials said.

Pemberton and NJ State Police officers began investigating the morning of July 23, 2019, Bradshaw said. Employees and customers said a man came into the bank "wearing a hooded sweatshirt, bandana, sunglasses and dirty sweat socks on his hands," officials said.

The robber approached the teller with his hand in his pocket pointing towards her, and said he had a gun, officials said. The man threatened to shoot the employees if they did not give him money, said officials.

Employees gave the man a few bundles of cash, which he dropped on the floor on his way out.

"As he was picking up the fallen currency, a Corona Light beer bottle fell out of his pocket," Bradshaw's office said. "He fled the bank with $600."

Forensic scientists were able to obtain a DNA sample that matched to Bell from the bottle, and officials served him a warrant in Dec. 2020 at the Burlington County Jail, where he was awaiting trial in a separate case, officials said.