Saugus police probing pair of robberies

SAUGUS – Saugus Police are investigating a pair of robberies from over the weekend after two men were reportedly carjacked at gunpoint and a man passed a note at the Eastern Bank on Route 1 and made off with an undisclosed amount of money.According to Assistant Police Chief Leonard Campanello, police are searching for an older white male, 5-foot-7 and heavyset, who walked into the Eastern Bank at around 1 p.m. on Sunday and handed the teller a note demanding money.Campanello said the man was wearing flourescent sneakers, sunglasses, a baseball cap and a light gray sweatshirt at the time.”(The teller) gave him an undisclosed amount of money, to which the suspect took and left the bank and also took the note back,” said Campanello. “He didn’t show any weapon.”Campanello said the Saugus bank robbery task force is currently investigating the incident.Earlier Sunday, police records show two men came into the station to report they were carjacked on Thursday at the Walnut Place Shopping Center.Campanello said the two men were driving out of the Applebees’ parking lot on Walnut Street at around 9 p.m. on Thursday when they were approached by two males, one of whom pointed a black handgun at the driver.According to Campanello, the gunman said, “Leave the car and give me everything you’ve got.”At this point the driver handed over a Guatemalan passport and a wallet with $300, while the passenger gave the man his Mexican passport and wallet, said Campanello.Campanello described the suspect with the gun as a black male, tall, heavyset wearing a black and white T-shirt, jeans and sunglasses, while the second suspect was only described as an “unarmed black male.”The two suspects then drove up Walnut Street toward Lynn, said Campanello.The two victims, however, didn’t report the incident until Sunday morning.”They said they were too scared to report it at the time,” said Campanello. “Then they were convinced by a third party that it was important to tell police.”According to the police log, Peabody Police recovered the car, a four-door Dodge Stratus, at around 3:30 p.m. Sunday on Garden Road in Peabody.”There was damage to the ignition,” said Campanello. “It was towed back to Saugus Police for processing. We’re still working on it and it’s still under investigation.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.