A wet wipe proved a Concord bank robber's undoing, feds say

Veteran bank robber Angel Robles didn't have much time to live it up with the $383.97 he made off with from a Concord bank last November because investigators were able to lift at least one of his fingerprints from the wipe he held during the robbery and then dropped before he ran out of the bank and back to the stolen U-Haul he had parked outside, according to an FBI agent on the case.

Robles' prints were already on file in a national database because in 2009, Robles pleaded guilty to participation in 11 bank robberies in Brighton, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Newton and Watertown the year before. He was sentenced to a little more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison for that spree and was released in June, 2018.

In an affidavit, an FBI agent assigned to the case writes that Robles, 36 and from Hyde Park, walked into the Citizen's Bank branch at 97 Lowell Rd. in Concord around 2:48 p.m. on Nov. 9 and handed a teller a note that started "“ROBBERY!" - the same opening line he used in his demand notes 12 years earlier. The note continued:

10,000 - (100’s) ONLY READY TO DIE ON A DEATH WISH! FUKIN [sic] TRY ME I WILL OPEN FIRE ON YOU & PUBLIC 3 MINS/YOUR CHOICE”

The report continues:

The teller then removed currency from her drawer and placed the currency on the counter. At this time the robber dropped a wipe that he had in his hand and took the currency from the counter before exiting the Bank.

Among the law-enforcement officers who responded to the robbery were members of the State Police crime-scene unit, which, among other things, took the wet wipe back to the lab. Meanwhile, a worker at a neighboring cafe was telling Concord Police and the FBI about the U-Haul that somebody had parked outside, exited, then hurried back into and drove off.

The next day, the State Police crime lab notified the FBI that they had lifted a print and that it matched one in a database for Robles - who, in addition to the 2008 robberies, was also wanted for several more recent bank jobs, the affidavit continues.

On Nov. 12, State Police troopers spotted the U-Haul truck and arrested Robles. According to the affidavit, he confessed to the Concord bank robbery.

If convicted on the charge of armed bank robbery, Robles could face up to 20 years in prison, the US Attorney's office reports.

Innocent, etc.