Feds, Andover Police Nab Bank Robbery Suspect

This bank robber could not hide for long. With the FBI, area police departments and the Bank Robbery Task Force on his trail, the man who is thought to have robbed several banks throughout the state was caught in Andover yesterday. 

FBI and Andover Police arrested Christopher Decareau, 26, of Peabody, while he was allegedly casing a bank on Main Street in Andover on Tuesday night, according to Andover Police Lt. Harry Collins. 

He was caught "going into a bank putting Band-Aids on his fingers" to conceal his fingerprints and with the same note he used in the similar bank robberies across the state, police said. 

Andover Police said that Decareau was arrested as a result of a lengthy investigation by the FBI. Andover Police and FBI agents apprehended Decareau outside of a bank on Main Street in Andover yesterday and have both him and his female accomplice in custody.

Both Decareau and his female accomplice were arrested for "attempting to commit a crime" by Andover Police and were arraigned in Lawrence District Court Wednesday morning. 

More locally, this suspect is being eyed in robberies in Reading (April 25, TD Bank North), Salem (May 15, TD Bank North) and Melrose (May 19, Eastern Bank), along with the May 9 Lynnfield one, the May 25 Canton one, and others in Braintree and Everett.

In a May 20 announcement, the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force described the suspect as a "serial bank robber." Most, if not all of the crimes, featured the suspect passing a note to a teller threatening harm while not actually showing a weapon, and then fleeing on foot.