Hyattsville Man Arrested, Tied to Four Bank Robberies

Jose Mercedes, 45, of the 8400 block of Melissa Street in Hyattsville, is being held without bond awaiting a bond review Tuesday. Monday he was arrested and charged with four counts of armed robbery.

Mercedes
PHOTO | MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE

At about at 4:39 p.m. Monday, Montgomery County police responded to the M&T Bank at 10420 Montgomery Ave. in Kensington for a report of a bank robbery. Witnesses told police a man entered the bank and passed a note demanding money to the teller. The note implied that the robber had a weapon. After getting the cash the man fled the bank, according to a police press release.

A short time later, with the help of K9 officers, Mercedes was found hiding in a shed in a backyard in the 3200 block of McComas Ave. in Kensington. The money bag and other items of evidentiary value were also located nearby, according to police. Police also found money from the robbery in Mercedes’ pockets, according to the news release.

Police also reported that during questioning Mercedes admitted to committing the bank robbery at the Montgomery Avenue M&T bank in addition to three other bank robberies:

• M&T bank located at 10100 River Road in Potomac on December 21, 2013
• M&T bank located at 7920 Norfolk Ave. in Bethesda on December 26, 2013
• Wells Fargo bank located at 9812 Falls Road in Potomac on March 1, 2014

No attorney information was immediately available.