Joseph Hill, Stephanie Demola charged with 2 Suffolk bank robberies, 1 attempted robbery, police say
Joseph Hill, 40, and Stephanie Demola, 34, both of Moriches, have been arrested and charged for allegedly committing a string of robberies last week, including of a Webster Bank in Patchogue, Suffolk Police said.
Credit: John Roca
Housemates from Moriches have been arrested and charged in a string of bank robberies last week, Suffolk County police said.
Joseph Hill, 40, and Stephanie Demola, 34, were arrested Monday and charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery and second-degree attempted robbery in connection with the spree in Suffolk, according to police.
Police could not immediately detail the relationship between the two, but said they share a residence in Moriches. Their cases were both continued Tuesday in First District Court in Central Islip, court records show. Hill is represented by Manhattan-based attorney Scott B. Zerner. He said his client was unable to make bail.
“We’re just at the very beginning of the incident,” Zemer said.
Demola is represented by Legal Aid attorneys who were not immediately available for comment.
Police said that on July 10 at about 10 a.m. the pair attempted to rob a Chase bank branch at 128 Main St. in Yaphank, then robbed a TD Bank branch at 474 Portion Rd. in Lake Ronkonkoma at 3:05 p.m. Then, police said, the pair also robbed a Webster Bank branch at 361 Sunrise Hwy. in Patchogue on Thursday at about 9:05 a.m.
During the last robbery, police said, a "woman wearing a motorcycle helmet" entered the Webster Bank branch and "verbally threatened violence" while demanding money. The teller complied and the woman then fled to "the back of a waiting motorcycle" that then headed west on Sunrise, police said in a news release shortly after the incident that also indicated Major Case Unit detectives were investigating.
It was not immediately clear how much was taken in the robberies.
It also was not immediately clear what evidence led police to arrest Hill and Demola.
With Deborah S. Morris
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
Accused stalker in court today ... East Meadow fatal crash ... New tenants at Green Acres ... Knicks NBA Finals preview
Accused stalker in court today ... East Meadow fatal crash ... New tenants at Green Acres ... Knicks NBA Finals preview
