Judge Denies Accused Bank Robber's Reduced Bail Plea

The Newport man accused of robbing Bank of America in Merrimack on Sept. 11 while wearing a President Barack Obama mask lost an attempt Thursday to have his bail reduced from $75,000 cash to $2,500 cash or corporate surety, according to a story in the Nashua Telegraph.

Judge Diane Nicolosi denied his request for the bail reduction during his hearing.

John Robert Griffin, 52, of 186 South Main St., Newport, has been at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections in Manchester since his arrest on Sept. 11. Police say he was spotted fleeing the scene of the late morning bank robbery dressed in a suit jacket, jeans and the mask.

Police caught up with him attempting to flee in a vehicle parked not far from the bank, with a backpack in the back seat that they say had a loaded handgun in it. Police said if he had the gun with him in the bank he never brandished it.

According to the Telegraph article, Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Kent Smith told Nicolosi that Griffin told bank tellers he was there to "make and unscheduled withdrawal," and that he was "redistributing the wealth." Griffin made it out of the bank with more than $17,000.

The Bank of America robbery was the third in four month in Merrimack. Griffin and Frank Mione, 47, of Milford, who is accused of robbing the TD Bank at 300 Daniel Webster Highway armed with a shotgun in August, were each indicted in November on charges related to the robberies.

The first robbery, of People's United Bank in Pennichuck Square in June, is still open and police continue to seek leads in the case.

Read the Telegraph's full story of Griffin's bail hearing on Thursday.