Valentine's Day robbery

By Janelle Randazza


PEABODY – The bank-robbing duo that hit the Sovereign Bank on Route 114 and then used a 1994 Mazda Protégé as the getaway car last Tuesday are still at large. The pair made their Valentine’s Day heist at 12:41 p.m. on February 14. Witnesses reported a white, heavyset male, 5’8”, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and a blue jacket walking into the bank and passing a note to a teller stating he had a gun, though no weapon was actually shown. According to Peabody Police Captain Richard Bettencourt, a witness followed the man out of the bank and reported him entering a green 1994 Mazda Protégé that was driven by a second white male. The witness took down the license plate number and reported the car driving East down 114.
The car was found at 1:29 p.m. abandoned at Wet Willy’s Car Wash on Route 1. Peabody Police, state police and the FBI are investigating the crime at this time. Bettencourt would not disclose the amount of money that was stolen from the bank but did say the stolen vehicle has been dusted for prints.