A Port Jefferson man robbed three banks in 10 days to pay for his heroin addiction, Suffolk police said.
Gabriel Rodriguez
Gabriel Rodriguez, 31, gave a teller with a note demanding cash and threatening the use of a gun at the Astoria Federal Savings Bank on Route 112 in Port Jefferson at 1:15 p.m. on Monday, police said.
The teller gave the alleged robber cash from the drawer and Rodriguez then fled the bank but was followed by a bank employee who saw him go into Pathmark in Port Jefferson Station, police said.
Rodriguez was apprehended inside the supermarket. He was charged three counts of robbery; one for the bank he was accused of robbing that day and two for a pair of prior alleged bank robberies.
“”He decided to rob the banks simply to fuel his heroin addiction,” said Detective Sgt. Robert Doyle, commanding officer of the Major Case Investigations Unit, who added that the case “typifies a lot of the bank robbers that we deal with.”
Detectives said Rodriguez robbed the HSBC Bank branch in Port Jefferson Station on Oct. 30 and the Teachers Federal Credit Union in Port Jefferson Station on Nov. 5.
Rodriguez will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Tuesday.
