Robber caught after boasting of lottery win
By Julie Manganis
Staff writer
PEABODY - To his friends, Steven Cerqueira had a plausible explanation for the new car and the large wad of bills in his wallet - he told them he'd hit a lottery jackpot for $4,000, then won another $2,000 playing Keno.
Then one of his friends saw his picture in The Salem News - and it wasn't of him holding a big check.
Now Cerqueira, 20, of Peabody, is facing a charge of unarmed robbery stemming from Wednesday's holdup of an Eastern Bank branch on Margin Street in Peabody.
The robbery allegedly netted Cerqueira $8,635, handed over by a frightened teller after Cerqueira handed her a badly spelled note: "Give me all the money in the drawer and no one will get hart fast don't waist time."
He got away, but surveillance cameras captured his image as he stood at the counter. A photo from that surveillance camera was released to The Salem News and ran in Thursday's edition.
On Thursday, a woman went to Peabody police and told them she recognized the man in the newspaper as Cerqueira, Detective Sgt. Thomas O'Keefe wrote in his report. She gave them an address of 5 Proctor St., where he had been living recently. The woman also mentioned the name of another female friend of Cerqueira's.
Police then went to see the other woman, who also recognized his picture.
Two others in the apartment then mentioned that Cerqueira had told them he hit the lottery for $4,000 and then won another $2,000 at Keno. He said he'd spent $4,000 on a Mitsubishi Eclipse with "fancy wheels," O'Keefe wrote in his report. And he said he'd been kicked out of his apartment and would be staying at a motel somewhere.
Police eventually spotted the Mitsubishi - with old license plates that were in Cerqueira's name - parked at the Days Inn in Danvers. Police found him in Room 138 and arrested him.
Police found about $1,000 when they arrested him.
Cerqueira pleaded not guilty to the unarmed robbery charge at his arraignment yesterday morning in Peabody District Court, where he was ordered held without bail pending a hearing next week that will determine if he is too dangerous to release before trial. That hearing is expected to take place Tuesday.
Staff writer Andrew Hickey contributed to this report.
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
Orignal story
By Julie Manganis
Staff writer
PEABODY - To his friends, Steven Cerqueira had a plausible explanation for the new car and the large wad of bills in his wallet - he told them he'd hit a lottery jackpot for $4,000, then won another $2,000 playing Keno.
Then one of his friends saw his picture in The Salem News - and it wasn't of him holding a big check.
Now Cerqueira, 20, of Peabody, is facing a charge of unarmed robbery stemming from Wednesday's holdup of an Eastern Bank branch on Margin Street in Peabody.
The robbery allegedly netted Cerqueira $8,635, handed over by a frightened teller after Cerqueira handed her a badly spelled note: "Give me all the money in the drawer and no one will get hart fast don't waist time."
He got away, but surveillance cameras captured his image as he stood at the counter. A photo from that surveillance camera was released to The Salem News and ran in Thursday's edition.
On Thursday, a woman went to Peabody police and told them she recognized the man in the newspaper as Cerqueira, Detective Sgt. Thomas O'Keefe wrote in his report. She gave them an address of 5 Proctor St., where he had been living recently. The woman also mentioned the name of another female friend of Cerqueira's.
Police then went to see the other woman, who also recognized his picture.
Two others in the apartment then mentioned that Cerqueira had told them he hit the lottery for $4,000 and then won another $2,000 at Keno. He said he'd spent $4,000 on a Mitsubishi Eclipse with "fancy wheels," O'Keefe wrote in his report. And he said he'd been kicked out of his apartment and would be staying at a motel somewhere.
Police eventually spotted the Mitsubishi - with old license plates that were in Cerqueira's name - parked at the Days Inn in Danvers. Police found him in Room 138 and arrested him.
Police found about $1,000 when they arrested him.
Cerqueira pleaded not guilty to the unarmed robbery charge at his arraignment yesterday morning in Peabody District Court, where he was ordered held without bail pending a hearing next week that will determine if he is too dangerous to release before trial. That hearing is expected to take place Tuesday.
Staff writer Andrew Hickey contributed to this report.
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
Orignal story
