Accused serial bank robber arrested

By MATT COLLETTE, The Day, CINA

Heather L. Brown, the woman who police say robbed six banks in as many days last week, was arrested in Hartford Monday and was to appear in court this morning, according to police.

State and Hartford police, “following numerous leads,” apprehended Brown in Hartford at 2:50 p.m., said Sgt. Chris Johnson, a state police spokesman.
Detectives from the Eastern District Major Crime Squad, acting on tips and information that Brown was possibly in the Hartford area, joined up with the city’s police department in search of the alleged bank robber.

Sgt. William Bundy, a detective with the major crime squad, said detectives from Troop E and Hartford spotted Brown walking in the area of Woodland Street and Homestead Avenue. She was apprehended alone and without incident.

Bundy wouldn’t speculate as to why she was in Hartford. He attributed the arrest to “old-fashioned police work” and cooperation with the Hartford Police Department.

“Hitting the streets and start looking is what we did,” he said. “We’re putting in a lot of man hours and Hartford was very instrumental with this, showing us the areas, taking us around the city. We were hitting the bricks and able to come across her as we’re following up leads.”

Brown, 34, whose last known address is 36 Ash St., Willimantic, was charged with first-degree robbery in connection with last week’s robbery of a Citizens Bank in Montville, the first of six alleged heists.
“I know there will be other arrests coming for her, for the other charges from other jurisdictions,” Johnson said.

In addition to the bank in Montville, Brown also allegedly held up banks in Middletown, Westerly, R.I., East Hartford and West Springfield, Mass.
Sitting in the front passenger seat of a black unmarked police car, Brown arrived at State Police Troop E barracks in Montville at about 5:45 p.m. Her hands were cuffed and she hid her face with the hood of an orange shirt as she was escorted inside.

Brown, for whom bond was set at $250,000, was due to appear this morning in Norwich Superior Court. She was released from prison in May following a 2006 bank robbery in Groton City and is currently on probation.

Brown’s former lawyer, Lawrence W. Bates of Willimantic, has said a previous drug habit had fueled numerous crimes Brown committed in 2002 and may still be an issue today.

Earlier Monday, police in Windsor issued an arrest warrant for Brown in connection with Saturday’s holdup of a CBT bank on Broad Street. She was being sought on charges of first-degree robbery and third-degree larceny, said Capt. Tom LePore of the Windsor Police Department.

Day staff writer Michael Naughton contributed to this repor