Crime & Safety
Suspected Bank Robber Captured After Hotel Scuffle
Joshua Anthony Santos, 22, charged with Dec. 16 armed robbery of Lafayette Ambassador Bank on State Street, according to published report and court records.
A man who allegedly pulled a pellet gun on an Allentown hotel employee over the weekend is the same person suspected in the armed robbery of an Emmaus bank last month, according to a published report.
LehighValleyLive reported that a hotel employee wrestled Joshua Anthony Santos, 22, to the ground until police arrived.
Santos, who has an Allentown address, was arraigned Saturday afternoon on two counts of robbery in connection with the Dec. 16 incident at the Lafayette Ambassador Bank at 402 State St. in Emmaus, according to online court records.
He also was charged with two counts of possessing an instrument of crime.
He was arraigned by on-duty District Judge Rod Beck of Slatington and committed to Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail, the records say.
The report said that after the scuffle at the Holiday Inn at Ninth and Hamilton streets, police spoke with Santos' mother and showed her several photos from the Dec. 16 bank robbery. She said the man in the photos was her son, according to the report.
The robbery happened at 10:07 a.m. Dec. 16, when a man entered the bank with a handgun and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured in the incident.
The bank is along a stretch of State Street in Emmaus where there have been other bank robberies in recent years, including at Lafayette Ambassador Bank.