EAST PROVIDENCE – East Providence Police apprehended two Rhode Island men, including one known as the infamous “Bearded Bandit” of yore, following their theft at the TDBank branch on Pawtucket Avenue New Year’s Eve afternoon.
Justin Worley, of Cranston, and Nicholas Lage, of Warwick, were each charged with one count of first-degree robbery and conspiracy. Mr. Worley was previously arrested in 2012 for a string of bank robberies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and had been dubbed the “Bearded Bandit.”
This time, shortly after 5 p.m. on December 31, EPPD officers responded to TD Bank at 440 Pawtucket Ave. for the report of a bank robbery. Upon arrival they learned two armed suspects had fled the scene in a vehicle with more than $11,000.
Members of the EPPD Patrol and Detective Divisions responded to the scene and gathered evidence and interviewed witnesses. Video was retrieved from inside the bank and a vehicle description was obtained from a witness.
On January 1, a member of the East Providence Police Department spotted the suspect vehicle at Twin River Casino. With the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police and Twin River security, the two subjects were taken into custody in the casino at approximately 1 a.m. on January 2.
As of January 3, East Providence Police detectives recovered nearly $7,000 that was stolen in TD Bank robbery. Also recovered was a knife and BB gun during the course of the investigation. Detectives continue to gather evidence and investigate this active case.
Mr. Worley was sentenced to six-plus years in federal prison for his role in a string of nine bank robberies, mostly in Rhode Island and one in Massachusetts, when he stole more than $32,000 back in 2012. He was released in 2018. He earned the monicker for his use of a fake beard when committing the larcenies.