Year-Long Search for Bank Robber is Over: FBI Charges Mt. Royal Man in Recent Bank Job

NEWARK, NJ—Today, Special Agent In Charge Weysan Dun announced that Brian S. Layton, age 48, of Sunset Drive in Mt. Royal, New Jersey will be charged with one count of bank robbery in connection with a September 25, 2009 incident in Carneys Point, New Jersey. Layton was apprehended by the New Jersey State Police a few hours after the robbery.

According to the criminal complaint, a financial institution known as “The Bank”, located at 221 Shell Road, Carneys Point, New Jersey, was robbed at gunpoint at approximately 9:05 a.m. on September 25, 2009. The robber, who wore a black stocking hat and hooded sweatshirt, entered the bank with a bag and pointed a dark handgun at a bank teller while demanding money. After obtaining a sum of money, the robber was observed fleeing the bank on a bicycle which was recovered a block away by law enforcement. The gun was later determined to be a pellet gun, which makes no difference in the eyes of the law; it is still treated as an armed robbery of a bank.

According to the complaint, later that morning at approximately 11:17 a.m., a New Jersey State Trooper stopped a white 1997 Dodge van on the Garden State Parkway for fictitious license plates. The driver of the van was unable to produce a license or vehicle registration. When the trooper returned to his state police vehicle to attempt to identify the driver, the van fled. However, the van became stuck in traffic at the toll plaza approximately a mile away. The driver attempted to flee on foot while carrying a backpack which he attempted to abandon while running. The trooper, who never lost sight of the driver, was able to apprehend him a short distance from the van and recovered the backpack, which was partially open. A search of the backpack incident to the arrest allegedly revealed money, banded with “The Bank” wrappers. The FBI was subsequently able to link the money in the bag to The Bank at the Carneys Point location.

Through subsequent investigation later that day, the FBI was able to link the driver, identified at Brian S. Layton, to seven other bank robberies throughout the past year through bank surveillance video from each of those robberies. According to the complaint, Layton wore a knit hat and sunglasses, carried a bag and made verbal demands for money, and escaped on a bicycle in all of the robberies.

“This case goes to show that it’s only a matter of time before law enforcement catches up with bank robbers,” said Dun. “With each robbery they commit, the bolder, braver and more complacent they become and that ultimately leads to their downfall. I wish to personally congratulate the New Jersey State Trooper who, through his perseverance and quick-thinking, single-handedly ended this one man crime spree. That trooper has brought pride and accolades upon the State Police and it is all very well deserved. From all of us at the FBI, thank you.”

Layton will have an initial appearance before the Honorable Joel Schneider, United States Magistrate Judge, in Camden, New Jersey on October 9, 2009. If convicted, Layton faces a possible sentence of 20 years imprisonment plus fines for the armed Carneys Point robbery. Additional federal charges may be filed. A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Skahill in the District of New Jersey.