The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
71-year-old man charged in bank robbery
ORISKANY FALLS, N.Y. >> A 71-year- old man of West Carthage, N.Y. was arrested after DNA evidence placed him in the Berkshire Bank the day it was robbed.
Walter C. Parker, 71, of West Carthage, was charged with second-degree robbery and second-degree criminal use of a firearm, both class C felonies.
The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office says on May 8, Parker traveled from West Carthage to the Oriskany Falls area, committed the robbery and then returned to West Carthage. Police say Parker is familiar with the area and that he resided in the town of New Hartford and town of Kirkland back in the 1980s.
During the course of the investigation, police recovered articles of clothing that were worn by Parker while committing the robbery and identified the make and model of the vehicle used. The Sheriff’s Criminal Investigation and the Identification Unit andWarrantsUnit were able to identify Parker as a potential suspect.
On May 23, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office received a DNA confirmation from the New York State Police Crime Lab from evidence secured from the articles of clothing. The DNA came back to Parker.
On May 24, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office with assistance by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and West Carthage Police Department located Parker at his place of work and taken into custody.
Police say while developing background information on Parker, it was learned he was a serial bank robber in 2004, committing multiple robberies across the state.
Parker was processed at the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office and is currently held in the Oneida County Correctional Facility awaiting arraignment in CAP Court later today.