Orono Robbery Suspect arraigned

Compiled from police reports and court documents by Katy England

BANGOR/ORONO – Robert Ferguson, 47, of Lowell, Mass., appeared at Federal Court in Bangor to be arraigned for allegedly robbing the Bangor Savings Bank on Park Street in Orono.
Ferguson appeared in court around 3:30 p.m., and waived a preliminary probable cause hearing. There is a continuance to the hearing to determine if Ferguson will be detained longer
According to the affidavit obtained at the courthouse, on July 13, authorities responded to a robbery complaint at the Bangor Savings Bank in Orono. An employee told police and FBI agents that a man cut in front of another customer saying he had a complaint about the bank. He told the employee that he had a two-way radio that was being monitored by a friend outside. The employee said that the man told her if she did anything wrong that friend would come into the bank and start shooting, according to the affidavit. He then provided her a blue nylon bag and instructed her to empty the teller drawers.
Once all the drawers were emptied, the man took the bag and he left the bank through the front door and proceeded down Park Street.
Another witness told police that he had seen a U-Haul box truck parked on the sidewalk on Park Street and had seen a man cutting across the lawn of Bangor Savings Bank holding a bag in the direction of the parked truck.
Around 12:18 a.m., on July 14, an employee at the Day’s Inn on the Odlin Road had recognized a man staying in the hotel as a man matching the description of the bank robber.
The employee was able to identify the man as Robert Ferguson and told police which room he was staying in. The employee also told police that Ferguson was a regular at the hotel and was employed by Greyhound Bus. Ferguson’s bus was parked at the hotel.
Around 1 or 1:30 a.m., police and federal agents were able to have Ferguson leave his room where he was then arrested.
Ferguson denied being in Orono, but a U-Haul employee had noted that the truck the U-Haul had rented to Ferguson was in Orono. Police and FBI agents also obtained surveillance video showing Ferguson coming into to rent the U-Haul. When he returned it later that afternoon he was wearing different clothing, according to the affidavit.
Authorities obtained a consent search from Greyhound Bus Lines to search Ferguson’s bus and they located a blue bag containing wrapped currency in an electrical panel inside the bottom storage area of the bus.
Special Agent James. P. Herbert investigated the incident with the assistance of Captain Josh Ewing of the Orono Police Department, Bangor Police Detectives Eric Tall, Larry Morrill and Lt. Jeff Millard. Old Town Police and Maine State Police, University of Maine Police, and other agencies also assisted.
Ferguson has been charged with robbery. The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.