Robbery suspect nabbed quickly
Captured near Thruway Exit 19 after Uptown bank heist, chase
A Greene County man was arrested shortly after he allegedly robbed the Key Bank branch on Wall Street in Uptown Kingston, city police said.
Ryan J. O’Connor, 30, of Staco Road, Hannacroix, was taken into custody about 5 p.m. Thursday on the Thruway Exit 19 roundabout in the town of Ulster, just outside the city, following a car chase.
O’Connor later was charged with felony robbery, arraigned and sent to the Ulster County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Kingston police said officers responded at 4:40 p.m. to the Key Bank at 276 Wall St. for a report of a robbery. A description of the suspect was obtained and given to patrols, while
other officers were directed to locate a vehicle that possibly was involved, police said.
After a brief search of the surrounding area, officers caught up with and stopped the vehicle on the roundabout, police said. They said O’Connor did not resist when he was taken into custody and that the money stolen during the robbery, along with other evidence, was recovered.
Police did not reveal the amount of money.
No weapon was shown during the robbery, police said. They said several customers were in the bank at the time of the incident but no one was injured.
Police cars from numerous agencies were at and near the roundabout after the chase ended, and some access to the circle was blocked for a period.
Photos from the roundabout show a four-door sedan being loaded onto a flatbed trailer as the incident wound down.
City police said they were assisted by the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, town of Ulster police and state police.
This was the second time in the past year the Key Bank on Wall Street was robbed.
Bradley Cook, 27, of Kingston was charged in a July 24, 2017, robbery of the bank. Authorities said Cook was accused of handing a note to a teller that instructed her to give him money and said nobody would get her if she cooperated. He then fled through the back door of the bank after the 2:45 p.m. robbery, authorities said.
Cook was arrested the following day and indicted on the felony robbery charge in September.
The Key Bank branch on Wall Street also was robbed on March 27, 2009, March 31, 2009 and Jan. 10, 2011.