Salem Police Nab Suspect in String of Local Bank Robberies

The search for a man who has robbed three local banks in as many months ended Wednesday evening when local officers spotted him walking down the street and found that he was in possession of marked bills from a recent robbery, police said.

Michael Reece, 31, who police say has been staying at 40 Ward St. in Salem, was arrested on charges of attempted armed robbery and three counts of unarmed robbery.

At 6:30 p.m., Det. Daniel Tucker, Sgt. Christian Hanson and Det. Thomas Brennan were on patrol on Congress Street "actively looking for the suspect" when they noticed "a man bearing a striking resemblance to the suspect," Tucker said Thursday morning.

"We've been studying the facial photos from the robberies for over a month now," Tucker said. "During the encounter we found that he had some of the marked bills from the Eastern Bank robbery in his pocket."

Late Wednesday night police applied for and received a search warrant for Reece's apartment and recovered "numerous pieces of evidence linking him to the three bank robberies and the attempted robbery of the Hess Station on Derby Street," Tucker said.

Reece will be arraigned this morning in Salem District Court.

Salem Patch will continue to follow this story and will post additional information as it becomes available.