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13/03/2009
'Bank Robbery' Policeman's Gun Death Probed
The tragic case of the apparent suicide of a former police officer which the PSNI are linking to a bank hold-up less than an hour earlier has taken a fresh twist.
A similar incident to the armed robbery that preceeded the gun-shot death of ex-policeman Ricky Hanley, 37, on Wednesday was carried out at the same Northern Bank in Ballymena last summer.
During that incident in August 2008, a man dressed like a police officer, armed with a handgun and wearing a high visibility jacket, entered the bank at 1pm.
He left with an undisclosed sum of cash.
Police said they were investigating if there is a link between that robbery and the latest one at the same branch of the Northern Bank in Harryville at 10am on Wednesday.
Mr Hanley shot himself dead at his Loughan Hill Park home after being challenged about the earlier armed bank robbery.
The former officer, a father-of-two who had retired on medical grounds in 2006, was reported to have been followed from the scene.
The PSNI spokesman has since said that a "sum of money has been recovered and police do not believe anyone was connected with the crime".
Police have also said a gun was recovered at the scene.
Al Hutchinson's NI Police Ombudsman's Office has been called in to probe the circumstances of the death - as is usual where police officers are involved in a violent death.
It has also emerged that a man arrested separately after the armed robbery has been released unconditionally and without charge.
Police have confirmed and later apologised, after the man's car was surrounded at the scene of the armed robbery.
In a statement last night a PSNI spokesman said: "It is now clear that the man arrested in the aftermath of the bank robbery had nothing to do with the incident whatsoever.
"He has been released unconditionally and without charge. Police have apologised to the man for his inconvenience."
See: Ex-Policeman Dies In Co Antrim Gun Incident
See: Ballymena Bank Hit In 'Cops And Robbers' Sting
(BMcC)
A similar incident to the armed robbery that preceeded the gun-shot death of ex-policeman Ricky Hanley, 37, on Wednesday was carried out at the same Northern Bank in Ballymena last summer.
During that incident in August 2008, a man dressed like a police officer, armed with a handgun and wearing a high visibility jacket, entered the bank at 1pm.
He left with an undisclosed sum of cash.
Police said they were investigating if there is a link between that robbery and the latest one at the same branch of the Northern Bank in Harryville at 10am on Wednesday.
Mr Hanley shot himself dead at his Loughan Hill Park home after being challenged about the earlier armed bank robbery.
The former officer, a father-of-two who had retired on medical grounds in 2006, was reported to have been followed from the scene.
The PSNI spokesman has since said that a "sum of money has been recovered and police do not believe anyone was connected with the crime".
Police have also said a gun was recovered at the scene.
Al Hutchinson's NI Police Ombudsman's Office has been called in to probe the circumstances of the death - as is usual where police officers are involved in a violent death.
It has also emerged that a man arrested separately after the armed robbery has been released unconditionally and without charge.
Police have confirmed and later apologised, after the man's car was surrounded at the scene of the armed robbery.
In a statement last night a PSNI spokesman said: "It is now clear that the man arrested in the aftermath of the bank robbery had nothing to do with the incident whatsoever.
"He has been released unconditionally and without charge. Police have apologised to the man for his inconvenience."
See: Ex-Policeman Dies In Co Antrim Gun Incident
See: Ballymena Bank Hit In 'Cops And Robbers' Sting
(BMcC)
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Man Arrested Over Armed Robbery In West Belfast
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11 January 2007
Armed robbery in County Tyrone
Police in County Tyrone have appealed for information following an armed robbery at a bank yesterday afternoon. The incident happened at around 3.45pm, when three men – one armed with a hatchet and another armed with a gun - entered a bank in the William Street area of Cookstown. The gang made off with an undisclosed sum of cash.
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28 March 2002
Robber’s gun jams during Castlewellan hold-up
During an armed robbery in a County Down shop, a 19-year-old woman has had a gun held to her head and the trigger pulled several times without the gun firing. The incident occurred when a masked man brandishing a gun burst into McAnulty’s store in Castlewellan’s main street on Wednesday March 27 around 11.20pm.
Robber’s gun jams during Castlewellan hold-up
During an armed robbery in a County Down shop, a 19-year-old woman has had a gun held to her head and the trigger pulled several times without the gun firing. The incident occurred when a masked man brandishing a gun burst into McAnulty’s store in Castlewellan’s main street on Wednesday March 27 around 11.20pm.
03 January 2007
Bank robbery charges dropped
The County Down man accused of the £26 million Northern Bank robbery in 2004, has had the charges against him dropped. Dominic McEvoy, 23, a builder from Mullandra Park in Kilcoo, was not present in Belfast Magistrates Court during the hearing.
Bank robbery charges dropped
The County Down man accused of the £26 million Northern Bank robbery in 2004, has had the charges against him dropped. Dominic McEvoy, 23, a builder from Mullandra Park in Kilcoo, was not present in Belfast Magistrates Court during the hearing.
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