A man accused of robbing a Pleasantville bank was ordered held pending trial Thursday.
Michael Mora, 26, allegedly gave a teller at the PNC Bank on the Black Horse Pike a note demanding money and claiming to have a gun at about 10 a.m. May 11.
He fled with about $1,003, and police released surveillance photos of him along with the car he fled in.
Mora apparently left for the Dominican Republic.
He was returning from there July 30, when he was arrested by Customs and Border Protection at JFK International Airport, according to police.
The pretrial safety assessment used to determine whether a defendant should be held recommended Mora be held because he is "a serious danger to the community."
But defense attorney Matt Leonard said that but the crime was first-degree only on paper, and if not for the allegation that he wrote he was armed, Mora would be facing a second-degree charge.
No weapon was shown nor found.
"One word allegedly written on a piece of paper is the difference between a first- and second-degree charge," Leonard said.
"We're dealing with someone who was going through a financial hardship and made a bad decision," he said.
There had been some question about Mora's immigration status, Leonard said.
But discussions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement determined that he would not be detained if released pending trial. That could change with a conviction.
