Lynn PD accuses local of armed robbery

LYNN – Cesar Rivera, 39, of 84 River St., was arrested on charges of armed and masked bank robbery and false reporting of a bomb threat, Lt. Paul A. Cotter said.

Dispatch received a report of a possible bank robbery at Eastern Bank at 112 Market St. shortly after 9 a.m., Cotter said. Officers later detained Rivera at 11:32 a.m. and successfully arrested more than $20,000 stolen from the bank.

Officers were near Eastern Bank and responded to the call within a minute, Cotter said. Once on scene, they were told that the suspect had passed a note containing a bomb threat to the bank employee and had received cash.

The suspect fled the bank and went to Brothers Deli on Market Street, Cotter said. The suspect then ordered a taxi and later used some of the stolen money to buy items outside the city.

Detectives used surveillance footage at the bank to tentatively identify the suspect, Cotter said. Rivera was wearing a COVID-19 mask, but investigators identified a tattoo above his mask and linked it to his previous arrest.

Detectives called local taxi companies and identified Rivera as being in a taxi owned by Garcia’s Taxi, Cotter said. Officers conducted a traffic stop on the taxi on Curwin Circle in Lynn.

Rivera was in the taxi with an amount of money equal to the amount stolen from the bank and was then positively identified by one of the bank tellers, Cotter said.

He said the combined efforts of officers and detectives led to a successful arrest and recovery of the stolen money in less than two hours after the dispatch call.