A man suspected in two bank robberies in the last month was arrested on Colonial Avenue last week through the joint efforts of the Westbrook and South Portland police.
Donald Turner, 34, address unavailable, appeared in federal court in Portland Monday and was charged on two counts of robbery, according to U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby.
Turner was charged in connection with the March 20 robbery of the Mill Creek branch of TD Banknorth in South Portland and the March 18 robbery of Gorham Savings Bank on Marginal Way in Portland.
Turner is being held without bail pending a hearing on March 31 at 9 a.m., said Silsby. If he is found guilty, Turner could face up to 20 years in jail for each robbery.
Westbrook and South Portland police arrested Turner at a house on Colonial Avenue after an investigation by the two departments as well as the FBI.
Det. Sgt. Steve Webster of the South Portland police said investigators were led to the Colonial Avenue residence after releasing a photo of Turner and receiving tips from the general public. Webster said people starting calling immediately after police released the photo, and soon investigators knew what kind of car Turner was driving.
Webster said they received information Turner was at the Colonial Avenue house, and went to the house and found Turner’s car there. Police asked the resident, who was allowing Turner to stay there, if they could come into the house and arrest Turner. Webster said he did not believe the Colonial Avenue resident had any idea that Turner had robbed the banks.
Webster described Turner as a “resident of greater Portland,” a transient with no real address. Westbrook Police Sgt. Alan Twombley, along with South Portland officers, arrested Turner on a charge of violating probation. Turner is on probation stemming from a burglary arrest a year or two ago, said Webster.
Westbrook Police Chief Paul McCarthy said officers brought Turner to the Westbrook Public Safety Building, where he was questioned. McCarthy said Turner confessed to the two recent robberies, and he was taken to the county jail.
“The Westbrook police were very, very helpful,” said Webster.
Webster said he brought the case to federal prosecutors, who made the decision to charge him. Because banks are federally insured, the federal government has the choice to prosecute over the state, he said.
Webster said Turner robbed the banks by handing a note on a piece of paper to the teller, presumably asking for money and referencing some sort of weapon. An employee at the Mill Creek TD Banknorth said employees were restricted from commenting on the burglary by police.
Gorham Savings Bank President Chris Emmons said he believed the note used at the Marginal Way bank was not the same note but “very similar, with the same tone associated with it.” He said the robbery occurred without other tellers being aware of it because of the calmness with which the teller handled the situation.
“Two other tellers thought it was business as usual,” he said, until after Turner was gone and the teller told her co-workers that she’d just been robbed. Emmons said the bank trains its workers to act in that exact way to avert any confrontation that would put people in harm’s way. He also said each time a robbery occurs, the bank learns a little more about it. This was the third robbery in three months for Gorham Savings, which hadn’t had a robbery since the first opened in 1858.
Despite the teller’s calm demeanor, Emmons said any robbery leaves the people directly involved with a lingering fear. “There’s a lasting fear, a concern that everybody has- they know who I am, but I don’t know who they are,” he said. “From our perspective, there’s always a collective sigh of relief” when the police arrest someone.
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