A Maryland bank customer made a large withdrawal. Then a teller from their bank came to their home and forced his way inside in an attempted robbery, police said.
Nathan Michael Newell, 19, of Bel Air, about 27 miles northeast of Baltimore, was arrested at his job on Wednesday and faces charges of home invasion, robbery, burglary and assault.
The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said that on Nov. 11 around 8:30 p.m. Newell rang the doorbell at a home in Bel Air and “immediately began assaulting” a 78-year-old man who answered the door. A woman, 57, who was in the home intervened, authorities said in a press release posted on Facebook.
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“At that time, the suspect ran upstairs, and the second resident ran to a nearby home to call 911,” the sheriff’s office said.
Newell fled the home before officers arrived, but was taken into custody days later.
The woman was treated at the home for injuries and the man was hospitalized for what authorities believe are non-life-threatening injuries. The Baltimore Sun reports that the man suffered heart issues after the attack and a broken leg and bruises near his eye.
Investigators learned that one of the residents “had removed a large amount of money” from the bank where Newell worked.
According to the Baltimore Sun, citing court documents, Newell said he tried to rob the customer for the money because he was tired of working two jobs and wanted to get his own place. The outlet says he worked at Freedom Federal Credit Union and was fired following the incident.
“We are shocked and appalled to hear of the events that led to the assault and injury of a longtime member of our credit union. Our thoughts go out to him, and his family, during this difficult time,” said Michael MacPherson, the credit union’s president and CEO, in a statement to the Baltimore Sun.
Newell is being held at a Harford County detention center without bail. Online court records did not list an attorney for him.
Minyvonne Burke