Trenton Man Admits Robbing Bank in Dress Disguise

TRENTON, NJ—A Trenton man admitted today that he robbed a Mercerville, N.J., bank in June 2011, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Kenneth Darrian, 25, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to an Information charging him with one count of bank robbery.

According documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Darrian entered the Mercerville Chase Bank on June 23, 2011, wearing a dress and a woman’s wig. He pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the bank teller, jumped over the counter, and told the teller to open the cash drawer. In response to this demand, another bank employee opened the drawer and Darrian grabbed the money before fleeing the bank. He was captured by the Hamilton Police Department on June 27, 2011, in relation to other matters.

The bank robbery count to which Darrian pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing before Judge Thompson is scheduled for March 14, 2012.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark; the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr.; and the Hamilton and Trenton Police Departments for the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Davenport and John E. Clabby of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.

Defense counsel: Andrea Bergman Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton