By John Burton
LONG BRANCH — A city man was arrested this week for the March robbery of a Sovereign Bank in his hometown.
Police have charged Manuel Sotogonzalez, 39, with second-degree robbery, following a nearly six-month joint investigation conducted by city police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, according to Charles Webster, public information officer for the prosecutor’s office.
Police responded to a report of the robbery on March 4 at the bank, 600 Broadway. Witnesses told police, the suspect allegedly entered the bank and approached a teller, demanding money. The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, with the suspect fleeing the scene prior to the police arriving, according to Webster.
Sotogonzalez’s bail was set at $125,000, without the option of posting a 10 percent bond. He was being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold.
