Career Bank Robber Held In Oakland Heist

Prolific bank robber John Edward Stevens made a first appearance in a Newark Federal Court Wednesday afternoon following an arrest for the alleged robbery of an Oakland bank last month.

A judge ordered Stevens remanded to custody and appointed him a public defender after a two-minute hearing, NorthJersey.com reported. Stevens was released from a Bronx halfway house two weeks ago, where he had been living since his February parole from a federal prison sentence for bank robbery.

Stevens, 59, of Brooklyn, has been charged with the April 15 robbery of the TD Bank on Ramapo Valley Road. Authorities say he entered the bank with a handgun in a zippered pouch, and fled the building with over $4,000 after showing the gun to a teller.

About 20 minutes after the robbery, authorities say, Waldwick Police Sgt. Robert Woessner found Stevens traveling southbound on Route 17 when a license plate check revealed the Toyota Camry he was driving had been reported stolen the day before.

Stevens was arrested on the Paramus Road off-ramp in Ridgewood, where police say they discovered a handgun and a TD Bank bag filled with $4,658 in cash.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman credited the Oakland and Waldwick police departments for their contributions to the case.

Stevens has previously served two prison sentences for a string of bank robberies in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1987 to 1988, he made an appearance on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List.

If convicted for the Oakland robbery, Stevens faces up to 20 years in prison.