Homeless Duo Charged in TD Bank Robbery

Police arrested two homeless men they say acted together to rob a bank in Long Beach last week. David Traversa, 19, and George Armstrong, 20, were arrested on Saturday for a robbery at TD Bank, at 550 Long Beach Blvd., at about 12 p.m. on June 8.

The Long Beach Police Department detective division and Nassau County Police Department robbery squad investigated the incident and arrested and charged Traversa with second-degree robbery after he was taken into custody at Milburn Avenue and Merrick Road in Baldwin at about 2:50 p.m. Saturday.

Based on a further investigation, police arrested and charged George Armstrong with second-degree robbery at the Capri Hotel, at 5 Freer St. in Lynbrook, at about 7:30 p.m. on May 9.

According to the LBPD, Armstrong walked into the bank and approached a teller at a window, demanded that the teller put money on the counter, left with an undetermined amount of cash and fled on foot eastbound on East Fulton Street.

“Armstrong entered the bank and made a verbal demand for the cash, and Traversa stayed outside and served as a lookout,” Sgt. Eric Cregeen, the department’s public information officer, told Patch.

Both suspects took a taxi to and from the bank, but the driver was not a party to the crime. “He was just waiting for one of the guys as the other guy was looking out and had the cab waiting,” he said about the driver. 

Traversa and Armstrong were arraigned in Long Beach City Court on Monday and will be held on $30,000 bail. The LBPD declined to reveal the amount of money that was robbed from the bank.

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