Guilderland bank threat rattles business corridor

20-year-old accused of handing teller note mentioning bombing

A 20-year-old Guilderland man was arrested Friday afternoon in a bizarre attempted bank robbery near the intersection of Western Avenue and Fuller Road that included a bomb threat and terrified workers being evacuated from a nearby office building.

The incident, which included the use of a drone and a tactical team armed with rifles to check for explosives, forced police to shut down traffic for about twoand-a-half hours around the

Bank of America branch at 1450 Western Ave. next to the Black & Blue steakhouse.

Guilderland police got a call at 1:33 p.m. that a man had walked into the branch and handed a teller a note that said he would blow the bank up unless he was handed money.

After reaching the scene, police from Guilderland, the University at Albany and the State Police set up a perimeter and shut down traffic along Western between Fuller and Mckown roads.

Witnesses, who walked out of neighboring businesses to watch the scene unfold, said that bank employees and customers were ushered out soon afterward, while the suspect remained inside.

Across the street, Kristine

Dimas, owner of Elite Design, watched the tense scene with her employees. She said a man soon left the bank and dropped to his knees as a police dog and officers with shields descended on him and took him away in an unmarked police car.

“He surrendered,” Dimas said. “He looked really frail.”

Police also evacuated people working at an office building next to the bank, telling people they were investigating a bomb threat.

No explosives were found in the bank, and the suspect was charged with falsely reporting an incident in addition to attempted robbery.

Members of the State Police

Bomb Disposal Unit and the Albany Police Department Emergency Services Team, using at times what appeared to be a drone, continued to check the bank building to ensure it was clear.

One of those evacuated from the office building was Christine Ronca, who said she was so grateful to police for helping people get to safety during what was a scary episode.

“(I’m) better now that I am home and know my coworkers are safe,” Ronca told the Times Union after the incident was over.

Police left and opened up Western Avenue just before 4 p.m. The man was arraigned in Guilderland Town Court and sent to the Albany County jail.

Tom Heffernan Sr. / Special to the Times Union Police mass at the scene of what authorities say was a threat made to a bank teller Friday afternoon on Western Avenue in Guilderland.