Dedham Police said an anonymous tip allowed them to track down and arrest two men who they said robbed the Citizens Bank inside Stop & Shop on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Police arrested and charged Joseph Wilcox, 42, formerly of Dedham, with unarmed robbery and negligent operation of a vehicle, and his suspected partner Nicholas Cunha, 30, of 427 Bunker Hill St. in Charlestown, with unarmed robbery. Police said Cunha had passed a note to a bank teller demanding money before taking off.
Lt. Robert Nedder said police went to the Stop & Shop at 160 Providence Highway at 11:06 a.m. after the robbery, which took place right around the bank’s opening at 11 a.m. A witness had seen a red Ford Taurus and its license plate and gave the tip to a Stop & Shop customer service employee, who in turn told police on the scene, Nedder said.
Going off the tip and surveillance video of the parking lot, police determined that the 1999 Ford Taurus had been the car involved in the robbery, and that it was registered to Wilcox, Nedder said.
Police said surveillance footage shows Wilcox seemingly casing the bank beforehand on Sunday.
“He walked into the Stop & Shop, walked around, went by the Citizens Bank, did not purchase any items, and then left and went outside (to the Taurus),’’ Nedder said.
Around 11 a.m., Cunha exited the Taurus, held up the bank teller and received an undisclosed amount of money, then fled back to the car before it sped away, Nedder said.
While the Taurus was registered to Wilcox at a Shrewsbury address, police said they were familiar with the suspect and had an idea of where he might be staying in Dedham, Nedder said.
They set up surveillance on a home where they thought he might appear and around 2:30 p.m. Wilcox arrived driving the Taurus, Nedder said.
Wilcox was taken into custody, but the passenger, Cunha, ran off, Nedder said. Dedham Police, with members of several other police departments and the Boston FBI office’s Bank Robbery Task Force, searched the area but did not initially find Cunha, he said.
At first Dedham Police were unable to gain access to the house, but when they tried again at 4:30 p.m., they were able to enter and arrested Cunha inside the house without incident, Nedder said.
Nedder would not divulge the address of the Dedham residence in question, but added that police were using search warrants to gather more evidence from the home.
A rolled-up wad of cash was found on Wilcox as he was searched at the police station, Nedder added.
Cunha and Wilcox were arraigned Monday, Sept. 28 in Dedham District Court. They both pleaded not guilty. Bail for both was set at $15,000.
They are due back in court for a pretrial hearing Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Dedham Transcript staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.
