A straw leads to the arrest of a man suspected in bank robberies, officials say

A straw leads to the arrest of a man suspected in bank robberies, officials say

Article brief provided by The New York Times
  • Christine Chung, The New York Times
December 4, 2022 5:12 PM
  • Christine Chung, The New York Times
  • Massachusetts

A Massachusetts man sought in connection with more than a dozen bank robberies was arrested on Thursday after the authorities linked DNA found at a robbery in May to a straw he used to sip a Red Bull energy drink at a casino five months later, prosecutors said.

Story continues below

Federal prosecutors said the man, Taylor Dziczek, 30, of Chicopee, Mass., presented a People’s United Bank teller in Plainville, Conn., on May 26 with a note with words to the effect of “I have a gun. Don’t call 911. Don’t set off any alarms.”

He then showed the teller what appeared to be a black firearm, though the gun may have been fake, according to court documents.

“Don’t be a hero,” he told the teller, according to prosecutors.

Plainville police officers collected paper money wrappers that were discarded at the scene and they subsequently underwent a DNA analysis, according to court records.