Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced today that on Monday, September 16, Robert Fitzpatrick, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of Robbery before the Honorable Therese Cunningham, J.S.C., official say.
According to officials, the plea agreement calls for Fitzpatrick to be sentenced to ten years in New Jersey State Prison as to each count, with the prison terms to run concurrently.
Officials say that the sentence will be subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, which requires Fitzpatrick to serve a minimum term of 85 percent of his sentence. Fitzpatrick is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cunningham on November 8.
On June 6, Fitzpatrick was arrested in connection with two separate bank robberies that occurred at a Bank of America in Toms River on April 25, and a Kearny bank in Lanoka Harbor on May 29, officials report. Fitzpatrick subsequently admitted to law enforcement officials that he also had robbed a Wells Fargo bank in Whiting on April 9.
The Lacey Township Police Detective Bureau and the Toms River Township Police Detective Bureau determined that the suspect from the robbery that occurred at a Kearney bank in Lacey on May 29 matched the description of the suspect involved in the robbery of a Bank of America in Toms River that had occurred on April 25, officials say.
Officials say that the vehicle utilized in the commission of the robbery was identified with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police as well as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission; this led to the identification of Fitzpatrick, a resident of Ocean Gate. Fitzpatrick was arrested at his home in Ocean Gate on June 6.
According to the officials, Prosecutor Billhimer would like to extend his gratitude to the Lacey Township Police Department, Toms River Township Police Department, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Regional SWAT Team and High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, New Jersey State Police, Stafford Township Police Department K-9 Unit, Ocean Gate Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for their collective assistance in bringing Fitzpatrick to justice.