Two Arrested And Charged For Armed Robbery In Warren

Two men have been arrested and charged with the Dec. 6 robbery at the Crown Bank located on Washington Valley Road in Warren.

Keith L. Babbs, 43, of Morning Glory Drive in Monroe and Lorance Nelson, 57, of Morris Street in Plainfield are both charged with 1st degree Armed Robbery.

Warren Police responded to the call around 10:25 a.m. and met with a bank employee who said a masked man entered the bank brandishing a gun while he demanded money from the teller.

The employee complied with his demands and the suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money.

According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office:

• Additional responding officers observed a suspicious vehicle, with the engine running, in a parking lot near the bank.

• While questioning the driver, Lorance Nelson, the officers observed Keith Babbs walking out from a wooded area near the Crown Bank with proceeds from the bank robbery.

• As officers searched the wooded area they located additional U.S. currency from the robbery along with a Paint-Ball gun.

• After obtaining a Superior Court Search Warrant, detectives from the Warren Township Police and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit searched the vehicle.

• During the search a mask was located inside a compartment behind the front passenger seat.

Both defendants were lodged in the Somerset County Jail and bail was set at $100,000 cash only for each defendant.