Lynn police are charging a local with armed robbery

LYNN — Cesar Rivera, 39, of 84 River St., was arrested on suspicion of armed and masked bank robbery and falsely reporting a bomb threat, said Lt. Paul A. Cotter.

Dispatch received a report of a possible bank robbery at Eastern Bank at 112 Market St. shortly after 9 a.m., Cotter said. Officers stopped and arrested Rivera later at 11:32 a.m. and successfully recovered over $20,000 stolen from the bank.

Cotter said officers were in the East Bank area and responded within a minute. Upon arrival, they were informed that the suspect had given a bank teller a note containing a bomb threat and received cash.

Cotter said the suspect fled the bank and went to the Brothers Deli on Market Street. The suspect then ordered a taxi and later used some of the stolen money for shopping outside the city.

Cotter said detectives used bank surveillance footage to initially identify the suspect. Rivera was wearing a COVID-19 mask, but detectives identified a tattoo above the mask and linked it to his previous arrest.

Detectives called local taxi companies and identified Rivera in a cab owned by Garcia’s Taxi, Cotter said. Officers stopped the taxi on Curwin Circle in Lynn.

Cotter said Rivera was in the taxi with an amount of cash equal to the amount stolen from the bank and was later identified by one of the bank’s tellers.

He said the combined efforts of officers and detectives resulted in a successful arrest and recovery of the stolen money in less than two hours after the call.