Riverhead Police have charged a Mastic man in two recent bank robberies.
Police have charged John Gayles, age 55, with two counts of robbery in the third degree in connection with hold-ups of the Capital One bank branches on Dec. 16 in downtown Riverhead and on Jan. 6 in Jamesport.
In both robberies Gayles entered the bank wearing a hooded sweatshirt, gloves and sunglasses, police said in a press release. He handed the teller a note demanding money. He was given money and then left the bank, according to a press release issued by Riverhead Police this afternoon.
Gayles was taken into custody on an outstanding New York State Parole Warrant on Jan. 8 and remained in jail on that warrant while the investigation continued, according to police.
He was “writ out of the Suffolk County Correctional Facility and processed on the robbery charges” today, police said and then arraigned in Riverhead Justice Court before Judge Allen M. Smith.
Gayles was found ineligible for bail due to his prior criminal history, police said. He was remanded to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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