Union County Man Sentenced To 9 Years For Robbing 4 Banks

ELIZABETH, NJ — A Union County man was sentenced to 115 months, or just over nine years, in prison for robbing four banks in January 2017, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Israel Cosme, 36, previously pleaded guilty to robbing the four banks on Jan. 16. U.S. District Judge Esther Salas imposed the sentence Thursday in Newark federal court.

Cosme was originally arrested Jan. 24, 2017 in connection with two of the bank robberies committed in Maryland. He was charged in July 2017 for also robbing a bank in Little Ferry.

On Jan. 15, 2017, Cosme robbed the TD Bank in Little Ferry where he went up to one of the bank tellers and demanded money, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

He then told the bank teller that he was carrying a weapon in his pocket and that he would shoot her if she did not comply with his demands. He then reached over the counter, grabbed the teller by the shirt, and grabbed money out of her hand, according to authorities.

Cosme also admitted robbing a TD Bank in New York on Jan. 12, 2017; a TD Bank in Essex, Maryland, on Jan. 22, 2017; and a TD Bank in Baltimore, Maryland, on Jan. 23, 2017. During all three of these robberies, Cosme handed tellers a note demanding money and stating that he had a gun, Carpenito said.

In addition to the prison term, Cosme was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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