Colts Neck Resident Sentenced to 15 Years for Bank Robbery Spree
Colts Neck Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for String of Robberies
FREEHOLD – In a press conference held on Thursday, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced the sentencing of Conor Kavanagh, a 31-year-old resident of Colts Neck. Kavanagh has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for a series of robberies and a burglary that took place over the course of approximately one month in 2021. The sentencing was handed down on Friday, July 7, 2023, by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley. Kavanagh will be required to serve at least 85 percent of the first 12 years of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).
As part of the sentence, Kavanagh will have no contact with the victims and will be required to make restitution. He is also prohibited from returning to the financial institutions where the crimes were committed. The charges against Kavanagh stem from three robberies that all occurred within a month of each other during the fall of 2021.
The first robbery took place on Saturday, November 13, 2021, at the PNC Bank inside the Stop & Shop supermarket in Keyport. Kavanagh approached a teller window and passed a note indicating that he was in possession of a weapon. He made off with a quantity of cash and fled the scene in a green Toyota pickup truck. The second robbery occurred on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at the Wells Fargo branch in the Lincroft section of Middletown. This robbery was carried out in the same manner as the previous one, with Kavanagh wearing similar clothing and escaping in a green Toyota pickup truck. The third robbery occurred on Friday, December 17, at the Wells Fargo branch in Eatontown, where Kavanagh again passed a note demanding money, claiming to have a weapon.
Following the second robbery in Middletown, detectives from the Middletown Police Department identified Kavanagh as a potential suspect. With the assistance of the FBI, they observed Kavanagh driving a green pickup truck that matched the description of the vehicle used in the previous robberies. Kavanagh was subsequently arrested. During a search of the pickup truck, detectives found proceeds from the Eatontown bank robbery as well as the clothing worn by the suspect, which matched the surveillance footage. Further investigation led them to a storage unit in Shrewsbury, where they discovered proceeds from the Keyport and Middletown bank robberies. Kavanagh’s cell phone also contained evidence of online searches for local bank branches.
Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Dugan handled the prosecution of this case, while Edwin Wu, Esq., represented Kavanagh. Prosecutor Santiago expressed his gratitude to the Eatontown, Keyport, and Middletown police departments, as well as the FBI’s Newark office, for their invaluable assistance in the investigation.
