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Police: Well-dressed man attempts bank holdup in Dedham

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 16, 2009 04:55 PM

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff, and Michele Richinick, Globe Correspondent

DEDHAM -- A man wearing a suit and tie with keys to a BMW in his pocket allegedly tried to use a handgun this morning to rob a Citizens Bank branch on Bryant Street.

The holdup did not go as planned. After corralling bank employees into a back room and few tense moments, the man walked out of the bank empty-handed, stashing his gun in a garbage can, police said.

"He picked the wrong bank to rob today," said Sergeant Michael Feeley of the Dedham Police Department.

Delroy George Henry, 34, is slated to be arraigned Wednesday in Dedham District Court.

Feeley and another police officer happened to be working a road detail about 100 yards away from the bank. When one of the bank employees fired off a text message about the robbery in progress, the two officers responded within moments, police said.

Police said Henry parked the BMW behind City Hall and then used a credit card to access the ATM vestibule before the bank opened.

Once inside, the man allegedly pulled his gun and got the employees to unlock a door, police said. During the commotion, one of the bank employees sent a text message about the robbery to a Citizens Bank worker in Norwood, who contacted police.

Feeley and Officer Frank McMillan were standing a few feet away from a jackhammer when they got the call and rushed to the scene. Police made their presence known and a few moments later, Henry walked out with one hand in his pocket. He was quickly arrested.

Lieutenant Frank Bielawski said the man was dressed like "someone who would fit within the general populace coming out of a bank." The BMW was not registered in the man's name and investigators are trying to determine whether it belonged to him.