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Man arrested after robbing bank in Atlantic City admits to that and three others

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A Virginia man arrested by Atlantic City police after robbing a city bank admitted this week to robbing four banks. Bruce Wayne Higgins, 43, was already a convicted bank robber when police in Atlantic City received a flier with a surveillance photo from the Dec. 15,  robbery of a TD Bank in Ocean City.
The suspect had handed the teller a note that read: “GUN IN pocket, MONEY NOW or –BANG-.” Officers James Bower and Anthony Grajales recognized Higgins, and Ocean City police were given his name. The next day — with his picture distributed to all TD branches — Higgins came into the TD Bank on North Pennsylvania Avenue. https://breakingac.com/atlantic-city-bank-robbed/ Employees hit the silent alarm, as they were told to do. But Higgins left without speaking to anyone. Witnesses told police who responded to the call that Higgins left in a cab. He wound up at South Carolina and Atlantic avenues, where the Wells Fargo Bank was then robbed. The robber’s note said: “Gun in Pocket. Money Now or Bang now.” Higgins was found walking down the street after leaving the bank, and arrested. The money was recovered, but there was no gun. A coordinated investigation between the FBI in Baltimore and New Jersey found that a suspect matching his description had robbed two banks earlier that week in Baltimore. On Wednesday, Higgins admitted to robbing the four banks. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 6. Higgins served about 37 months in federal prison for two other bank robberies. Both also included notes threatening a gun. Problems with heroin and cocaine started Higgins' problems in 2009, according to a Washington Post story at the time. When he robbed banks in Virginia and Washington, D.C., "Higgins had lost a job at an information technology firm paying more than $100,000 a year, had recently gotten divorced and was living in a crack house in Northeast Washington," the post wrote.
author

Lynda Cohen

BreakingAC founder who previously worked in newspapers for more than two decades. She is an NJPA award-winner and was a Stories of Atlantic City fellow.

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