Sheriff’s Office Catches Two Fugitives in Southeast
Two napping fugitives accused of robbing a bank in Connecticut woke up to Putnam County Sheriff Office investigators ready to arrest them last Tuesday.
Vance Coffin and Vincent Rollins, both 50, of Norwich, Ct., are facing local stolen property charges and additional robbery charges stemming from a bank heist in Canterbury, CT., according to the sheriff’s office The pair was captured in Southeast after they were found asleep in stolen car near the East Branch Reservoir, according to authorities.
The arrest came after the Connecticut State Police notified the sheriff’s office at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday that Coffin and Rollins could be in Brewster and were wanted for a Sep. 23 bank robbery. From there, the sheriff’s office dispatched about a dozen investigators and plainclothes deputies to search the Brewster and Southeast area for the suspects, who Connecticut authorities noted should be considered armed and dangerous.
At about 12:45 p.m. investigators spotted the two men matching the description of the fugitives in a 2010 Toyota Corolla parked off the side of Old Milltown Road near the reservoir, according to the sheriff’s department. As the two men slept, investigators and deputies moved in on the car and apprehended the Coffin and Rollins without a fight.
After further investigation, it was determined the car the two men were in had been reported stolen from Colchester, CT. on or about Oct. 17. Additionally, a North Carolina license plate displayed on the car belonged to another vehicle and the plate has been reported stolen from Newton, North Carolina on or about Oct. 21, according law enforcement.
Coffin and Rollins face a litany of charges extending into two states.
In New York, the pair is charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the 3rd degree, a class D felony, and criminal possession of stolen property in the 5th degree, a class A misdemeanor. They also face extradition across the border in Connecticut on the bank robbery charges.
Last Monday, Connecticut State Police sent out a photo of Coffin and Rollins and the vehicle–a black SUV–they were last seen in. On Sep. 23, one of the suspects walked into a Savings Institute Bank and Trust, implied that he had a weapon and left with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to Connecticut State Police.
