Florida Man Charged with Robbing Stratford Bank

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on April 19, 2017, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging ROBERT ABEL, 54, of St. Augustine, Florida, with one count of bank robbery.

The indictment alleges that on February 17, 2017, ABEL used force, violence and intimidation to rob $1,517 from a branch of Webster Bank located at 450 Barnum Avenue Cutoff in Stratford.

ABEL appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge. He has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on February 17, 2017.

If convicted of the charge, ABEL faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Stratford Police Department and Milford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.