Suspect in store robbery caught
‘Grandpa Bandit’ captured at casino
NORTH GREENBUSH, N.Y. » Town police said authorities have captured the man who robbed dollar stores across the nation, including one on North Greenbush Road last month.
Authorities previously asked for the public’s help in identifying the man they dubbed the Dollar Store Grandpa Bandit. The man committed 10 robberies at Dollar Tree Stores and Dollar General Stores across the nation, including most recently robberies in Pennsylvania and Connecticut over this past weekend, police said.
David D. Hunter, 53, who lives in the Enfield,
Conn., area, was identified as the suspect after the recent robberies, police said Wednesday.
Authorities were able to track Hunter to a casino in Eastern Indiana.
“The North Greenbush Police contacted and mobilized local law enforcement in that area where the suspect, and the stolen vehicle, were located,” police said in the release.
Due to concerns about Hunter being armed, authorities waited to approach Hunter until he went to a restroom where he was taken into custody without incident, police said.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Hunter regarding the May 6 robbery at the North Greenbush Dollar Tree. He is currently being held on those charges, police said. Hunter has been transferred from the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office in Lawrenceburg, Ind., to FBI custody. Hunter had previously been on parole with that office but is not currently known to be on any supervised release status.
“While the arrest has been made, there are still many aspects of the investigation that remain open. It is hoped Hunter’s motives for the robberies will be confirmed through further investigation,” Chief Robert J. Durivage said in the release. “Due to the complexity of the joint investigation which involves various law enforcement agencies nationwide, the investigation may take several more weeks to conclude. We are relieved that this part of the case is over and nobody was hurt. Additionally, we appreciate the assistance we received from the many local and state law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the Intelligence agencies that all worked on this investigation.”
Police previously said the suspect, when robbing the stores, would enter an establishment at closing time, display a weapon, and direct employees to remove cash from the registers and store safe. He then forced them into back rooms, took their cellphones to prevent them from calling the police and fled, with the phones discarded some distance away, usually in neighboring towns, police said.
Locally, the man walked into the Dollar Tree store in the Shoppes at Greenbush Commons about 9:15 p.m. May 6, displayed a silver handgun and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.