Suspect Charged With Robbing Four Montgomery County Banks

A suspect tracked by a police dog after allegedly robbing the M&T Bank in Kensington faces charges for robbing for Montgomery County banks since last December.

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department arrested Jose Mercedes, 45, of the 8400 block of Melissa Street in Hyattsville on Monday night.

Police responded to a robbery at M&T Bank, 10420 Montgomery Ave. in Kensington, at about 4:39 p.m. Monday.

The suspect, later identified as Mercedes, entered the bank and passed a note to the teller. The note demanded money and implied the suspect had a weapon. The suspect was given cash and let the bank.

A short time later, with the assistance of K9 officers, Mercedes was found hiding in a shed in a backyard in the 3200 block of McComas Avenue in Kensington. The money bag and other evidence was found nearby, police said, while they recovered the money from the bank in Mercedes' pockets.

During questioning, police say Mercedes admitted to robbing the Montgomery Avenue M&T bank, as well as three other bank robberies:

• M&T bank located at 10100 River Road in Potomac on December 21, 2013
• M&T bank located at 7920 Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda on December 26, 2013
• Wells Fargo bank located at 9812 Falls Road in Potomac on March 1, 2014