ONE-MAN CRIME WAVE
TEEN CLEARED, SUSPECT NOW SOUGHT IN FOUR SEPARATE DELCO BANK JOBS
HAVERFORD >> Even Justin Anthony Valenti reportedly admitted to a detective that he looks like the suspect in surveillance images from the Oct. 3 robbery at the Santander Bank on Eagle Road, police said Monday.
But it wasn’t Valenti – just as the 18-year-old told police when he surrendered on the warrant for his arrest.
“He is no longer considered a suspect,” Haverford Police Chief John Viola said Monday. “We knew Friday night that he didn’t do our job and all charges were dropped then.”
It was not immediately known if Valenti had obtained an attorney.
Now, the still-elusive suspect in the Haverford heist is considered a suspect in as many as four similar bank robberies in the last 10 days, including an attempt on Friday in Newtown, Viola said.
“The robbery in Newtown really cleared it up,” Viola said, noting a similar description of a suspect in both cases.
Additionally, police ultimately obtained evidence and corroboration from Valenti’s girlfriend and her mother that Valenti was paying for a Domino’s Pizza in Bryn Mawr about the same time the Santander Bank at 130 N. Eagle Road in Haverford was being robbed, Viola said.
It was about 1:48 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, when a lone male entered the bank “laughing and dancing,” according to the probable cause affidavit initially filed against Valenti.
When a teller asked if he needed help, the suspect asked if the teller could cash a check for him. The teller then asked if he had an account with the bank and the suspect stated that he did. It was at that point the suspect handed the teller a note and a black plastic bag.
“I have a gun, give me all the money in the drawer,” read the note, according to the affidavit.
The teller emptied the contents of his bank drawer into the plastic bag. The suspect fled the bank with the bag, which contained an undetermined amount of cash, as well as the demand note.
The suspect, dressed in a black Nike hoodie, black pants with a white stripe down the side, black gloves, hat and aviator sunglasses, exited the bank and was last seen running on Eagle Road near Brierwood Road.
Valenti was identified as a suspect early in the investigation.
According to the affidavit, after reviewing surveillance footage of the incident, several police officers believed the suspect closely resembled Valenti, with whom they were familiar through prior police contacts. Police then compared Valenti’s driver’s license with surveillance photos and again believed there was a strong resemblance between the images.
Investigators subsequently spoke to Valenti’s mother. When she was shown the surveillance footage from the bank, she confirmed the robbery suspect was her son, the affidavit states.
As news of the robbery spread and images of the suspect were shared on various social media outlets, police received additional phone calls from individuals identifying Valenti as the suspect. One of the callers included the principal at Haverford High School, who recognized Valenti from the surveillance footage, the affidavit states.
But Valenti was adamant about his innocence when he surrendered on Oct. 4, saying he had a receipt for a pizza purchase to prove it, according to Viola.
Citing the numerous suspect identifications, Viola said police proceeded with the charges against Valenti, while also continuing to investigate his alibi.
Valenti was detained overnight Oct. 4 at Haverford police headquarters, Viola said. He was preliminarily arraigned the afternoon of Oct. 5 on two counts of robbery, theft and receiving stolen property offenses, and then released on $40,000 unsecured bail, according to online court records.
“Detective Mark Johnson requested nominal bail. He thought something may not be right,” Viola said.
At some point after Valenti’s preliminary arraignment and release, Viola said investigators obtained the pizza receipt and pizza box, as well as the witness statements corroborating Valenti’s whereabouts.
Then hours later, Viola said, a lone bank robber whose description matched their suspect in the Santander case struck again, this time in Newtown.
At the time, police in Haverford still had their eye on Valenti.
“We knew where he was,” Viola said.
According to Newtown Police Chief Christopher Lunn, a man in a black hooded sweatshirt and dark sunglasses entered a branch of Citizens Bank in the Newtown Square Shopping Center on West Chester Pike about 6:48 p.m. Friday. He presented a note to a teller. For some reason, the suspect left the bank without any cash. He also took back the note.
Lunn said Monday that the investigation was ongoing. He also released images of the suspect.
As the Haverford bank robbery investigation continues, anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Johnson at 610-8531298, ext. 1234. Anyone with information in the Newtown robbery attempt is asked to call 610356-0601.