Dye Pack Explodes On Convicted Bank Robber In Newark (VIDEO)

NEWARK, NJ — A jury recently convicted an Essex County man of robbery after he was captured on video fleeing a bank in Newark when a dye pack exploded – leaving a cloud of pink smoke trailing behind him.

Esau Grant, 29, of Newark, robbed the Capital One Bank at 487 Springfield Avenue on July 3, 2021, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Grant walked into the bank wearing a backpack and handed a teller a note on a withdrawal slip: “I have a gun give me all the money from the register please, and no one will get hurt.”

The teller gave him money – including a dye pack, Newark police previously said.

Grant left the bank, walking east on Springfield Avenue. When he walked beyond the bank property, the dye pack exploded. He then ran north on Blum Street (watch surveillance video footage online here).

Police arrested Grant two days later. The total amount of cash stolen, along with the dye pack, was $2,500. The dye pack contained $200.

Nobody was physically harmed during the robbery, authorities said.

An Essex County jury found Grant guilty of second-degree robbery after a one-day trial, authorities announced last week.

Prosecutors said the verdict was partly due to the testimony of the bank teller who was robbed.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 26. Grant faces a sentence of up to 10 years in New Jersey state prison, prosecutors said.

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