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BERKELEY, NJ — Authorities in Berkeley racked down and charged a masked man who robbed a Berkeley bank to repay a hefty debt to a travel baseball program, police said. Michael Walters stole from Santander Bank at 730 Jamaica Blvd. and then went to the Manchester Police Department with a large amount of cash Thursday, according to the Berkeley Township Police Department.
Walters, the team manager and treasurer, misappropriated over $6,500 in team money that players raised in fundraising activities, Manchester police said. The money Walters misappropriated was meant to be used for equipment, entry fees for tournaments and other team-related expenses, police said.
Walters entered the bank wearing a mask and dark clothing, handing the teller a note demanding money, police said. He received an undisclosed amount of cash and quickly fled on foot toward the north end of the plaza, the BTPD said.
Berkeley patrol units immediately responded. Detectives began a neighborhood search, where residents with doorbell cameras and surveillance equipment were pivotal in tracing Walters’s path, the BTPD said. Video showed Walters parked a distance away from the Plaza 1 Mini-Mall to thwart detection, police said.
Manchester police were aware a bank robbery occurred. They contacted Berkeley police when Walters came to them with a large sum of cash. Walters was under investigation for theft by association, police said.
Walters told Manchester detectives he reimbursed the money and made good on his debt, according to police. Manchester police found it unusual that he had this much cash at around the same time and same area as the bank robbery.
Berkeley police compared surveillance footage with Walters and his vehicle, which was now at the Manchester Township Police Department. Walters’ car is a State of New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency vehicle, police said.
Authorities impounded his vehicle and executed a search warrant at about 11 p.m. Thursday, police said. Money stolen from the bank was recovered.
“This case was quickly resolved due to the fast action of Berkeley Detectives and their Manchester counterparts who work hand in hand on cases which impact neighboring jurisdictions,” Berkeley police wrote. “Further, the presence of doorbell cameras and other surveillance equipment along with the cooperation of the residents was crucial in providing key evidence in this case which detectives would not have had as quick or at all without this technology.”
Walters was charged with second-degree robbery, theft and bad checks, police said. He was remanded to the Ocean County Jail, according to authorities.
MattChew Joseph Egan. Did u read this. Shits nuts
Rob Citron dang he doesn’t look familiar to me
Is that ur kids team tho
Rob Citron nah we’re in the clear lol
Can’t fix stupid
Talk about stuipd
stupid is as stupid does.
Thats commitment.
?
Barrow from Peter to pay Paul. Two wrong’ s don’t make a right, just adds more jail time. So frigging stupid.
Lol a dcp&p car goes to show you what type of people are taking kids from parents
Steven Smith I think it may be his wife who works for dcp&p
And she’s obviously not responsible enough to keep her state vehicle from being used by anyone other than herself
Steven Smith I agree ☝?
She’ll probably lose her job since her state vehicle was used during a crime
NJ 101.5 article said he is the one who worked for dcp&p so I stand corrected
Duh.
Way to go Manchester Little League ????????????
This is the shit they let coach our children.. they should have never let him back after he was found to be drunk at baseball games he was coaching
Laura Michelle the scariest part is why does he have a dcp&p car how many kids was this guy involved with being taken from the care if their parents
Steven Smith I’m not 100 percent certain, but I believe maybe his wife works for dcp&p
Steven Smith according to the NJ 101.5 article he was indeed employed by dcp&p
Laura Michelle every case he was involved in should be investigated and Sue the fuck out of the only untouchable agency.
Robs a bank then drops the cash off at a police station right down the road ????
Tom Christian
Gotta be the dumbest man on planet earth
This guy is dumb but not as dumb as people that think being a heroin addict isn’t their fault
It used to amaze me that people could be this stupid. Now, I just expect it. Hope he does some serious jail time.
what a dope
Emily Covella dumbyyyy
I know
Wow just wow
Travel ball ain’t no joke! Dennis McDonaugh Frank Knight Ken Fielder
Andy Thomas what an idiot.
Who, me?
Who, me?
Andy Thomas no. The guy that stole the money.
Andy Thomas the guy who took the money.
tracked!! but what a story!!!
This story really isn’t funny, but I just had to laugh at the sheer stupidity.