Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Man Charged in Two Bank Robberies in Collier

Collier County sheriff's deputies arrested a man Wednesday on charges he robbed a Bank of America branch in North Naples twice in 2007.

David Pena, 22, 3320 Olympic Drive, Unit 114, North Naples is charged with two counts of armed bank robbery in Collier County.

Naples police are charging him with a third bank robbery in the city.

Pena is charged with robbing the Bank of America branch at 899 Vanderbilt Beach Road, in the Pavilion shopping plaza, on Aug. 31, 2007, in which he displayed a black semiautomatic handgun and demanded money. He wore a ball cap and sunglasses during the heist, investigators said.

Pena robbed the same bank again on Nov. 9, 2007, wearing a mask, investigators said.

Pena is also being charged separately by Naples police in connection with the March 20 robbery at the Wachovia Bank, 820 Park Shore Drive, in the city of Naples, investigators said. A handgun was used in that robbery.

Investigators said all three bank robberies shared many similarities including physical description of the robber and the type of gun used.

Evidence was left at the scene of last week's Wachovia bank robbery that investigators linked to Pena, leading to his arrest Wednesday by CCSO deputies during a traffic stop in North Naples. Investigators are not disclosing what evidence linked Pena to the robberies.

The arrest was part of a joint investigation by CCSO and Naples police, along with the FBI, investigators said.

A mug shot will be posted once it becomes available.