Suspect in Tuesday morning Suntrust Bank robbery arrested

The Suntrust Bank at 700 Virginia Avenue  in Fort Pierce was robbed yesterday  shortly before 10 a.m. The suspect handed a note to a teller threatening that he had an explosive device and demanded money.

The teller complied and gave him cash. The suspect fled out of the west side of the building.

Suspect was  a white male, described as having a “slim build,” blond hair with a goatee, wearing a gray hat, sunglasses, a blue shirt and gardening work gloves at the time of the robbery.

At about 2 p.m. Tuesday, Paul Joseph Hartley, 35, of the 100 block of S.E. Solaz Avenue in Port St. Lucie, was taken into custody at his home by St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office detectives. The robbery occurred at 9:56 a.m.

According to Sheriff Ken Mascara, through the Sheriff’s Office partnership with the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, detectives with agency’s criminal investigations unit immediately identified, located and arrested Hartley.

“Through our relationship with federal partners like the FBI, the fact that we were able to quickly bring this criminal to justice sends the message to our community that the resources and connections are in place to find the bad guys and put them behind bars,” Mascara said.

Sheriff’s detectives brought Hartley to the Fort Pierce police station, where he was charged with robbery. Fort Pierce detectives then brought Hartley to the St. Lucie County Jail

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  • Posted 8 years ago

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