CONCORD, NH — After a monthslong investigation, Concord police and federal authorities believe they have the man who robbed the Bank of America last month.
John Robert Griffin Jr., 64, was arrested by police on Wednesday in Gorham on robbery and theft by unauthorized taking charges, both felonies. He is accused of robbing the Storrs Street bank on Nov. 20.
Officers were sent to the bank for a report of a robbery in progress at around 9:30 a.m. The suspect was described as a white man wearing a black mask, ski goggles, gloves, a beige sweatshirt, and jeans. The jeans were later described as tan-colored. He was carrying a dark bag with a green logo.
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The suspect reportedly had a hand in a sweatshirt pocket, as if he had a weapon, but did not say that he had one. A dispatcher said the suspect also did not brandish a weapon.
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The suspect was accused of grabbing some banded 20-dollar bills from a drawer and fleeing. Officers scoured the city searching for the suspect and also requested K-9 units. Security cameras in the area were also eyed. Police accused Griffin of getting away with around $12,000. Limited information about the investigation was available at post time. But Det. Lt. Thomas Yerkes of the Concord Police Department said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office Drug Task Force, and the Berlin NH Police Department were all involved in the investigation during the past four weeks. Griffin was brought to Concord, refused bail, and was taken to the Merrimack County Jail for holding. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Concord District Court on Thursday. According to superior court records and posts on Patch, Griffin is no stranger to police or courts. Griffin was accused of robbing a Bank of America location in Merrimack back in September 2013 and gained notoriety for wearing a clever disguise — a mask of President Barack Obama. About two years later, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, felony theft, and was sentenced to a three-to-six-year sentence, six months minimum, suspended for two years after release, with 723 days time served. In March 2016, he was paroled early. In December 2017, he failed to return to the North End Transitional Housing Unit in Concord. However, he was returned to prison a day later after being found in Veteran’s Park in Manchester. In March 2019, a jury found Griffin guilty of one escape charge, and he was given a 12-month sentence, six months suspended, for two years from release, to be served consecutively with other sentences. In November 2020, Griffin petitioned the Merrimack County Superior Court to have his record annulled. A month later, the request was denied. In March 2023, there was a request for documents in a prior criminal case. According to court records, Griffin has been involved in several other cases during the past two decades, including criminal, civil stalking, motor vehicle violations, wrongful discharge, and other civil cases. In 2012, he sued the Laconia Citizen and Nashua Telegraph for slander, but the case was dismissed in April 2013. He also sued a police officer in 2018 for slander and defamation. That case was transferred to federal court and dismissed in December 2018. Griffin appealed but that, too, was rejected in December 2019. The Concord Police Department asked anyone with information about this incident to contact Det. DeSilvio at 603-225-8600. Do you have a news tip? Please email it to [email protected]. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.
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