New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Two Hackensack, New Jersey Banks

NEWARK, NJ—A Hackensack, New Jersey man pled guilty today to federal bank robbery charges, admitting that he robbed two Hackensack banks, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Kemmet Meeks, 48, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to a Superseding Information charging him with two counts of bank robbery.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in Newark federal court:

Meeks admitted robbing a Wachovia Bank on Johnson Avenue in Hackensack on November 3, 2009, of nearly $28,000, and a TD Bank on Essex Street in Hackensack on January 30, 2010, of approximately $13,000.

During the robberies, Meeks and his co-defendant, Eugene Jones, approached the teller counter and demanded money while Jones displayed a gun. Both men wore hooded sweatshirts and face masks. Meeks admitted that he prevented those inside the bank from leaving during the TD Bank robbery.

Meeks was apprehended on February 6, 2010, after authorities, who were conducting surveillance of a van that had been stolen earlier that morning, observed Meeks drop off his codefendant at the stolen van. During a short vehicle pursuit, officers observed Meeks throw a black ski mask and a stolen 9 mm handgun from the vehicle.

Each of the counts to which Meeks pleaded guilty carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Meeks is scheduled to be sentenced on November 10, 2010.

The case against Jones is pending; the charges and allegations contained in the Indictment charging Jones are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Fishman credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, and the Hackensack Police Department with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana W. Chen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Kenneth W. Kayser, Esq., Livingston, New Jersey