By Shayna Jacobs, Ben Fractenberg and Tom Liddy
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Third time's usually a charm...but not for this guy.
A father of two from New Jersey tried to rob the same Downtown bank three days in a row, but was nabbed by a pair of eagle-eyed cops who recognized him from surveillance footage, sources said.
Charles Burnett, 29, of Teaneck, made off with more than $26,000 in the three-day spree, first reported by the New York Post, at the Sovereign Bank branch at 2 Gold St., according to court documents.
The luxury building was the site of the murder of Pace University Max Moreno on Sept. 29, 2010.
During the robberies, Burnett allegedly passed a note to tellers at the bank, demanding cash and saying that he had a gun.
According to court documents, Burnett picked up a woman who was in his way during the first heist on Sept. 26 and then handed the teller a note saying: "Put money in the bag, I have a gun!"
He allegedly made off with $2,258 in cash.
The next day he came back just before 11 a.m., approached the teller with a sock over his hand and passed a note saying he had a gun, before making off with $14,183, the documents said.
Then on Sept. 28, he allegedly pulled a similar stunt and made off with just over $10,000 in cash.
But sources said that two eagle-eyed cops who were passing by noticed him come out of the bank with a bag and recognized him from photos they had seen of the suspect.
When they started to question the suspect, he took off but was apprehended after a brief chase — all before the 911 call came through.
Burnett, who was originally from Georgia, was carrying two keys for a hotel room, where he allegedly had $45,000 in cash stashed.
At his arraignment, Burnett's attorney, George Depountis, said that: "there are certain medical issues that may come into play in this case.
"His family is very concerned for him."
