Crime & Safety

Bank Employees Chase Down Medford Robbery Suspect, Leading to Arrest

Gina Muccini, 35, of 48 Cummings St. is charged with armed robbery.

The suspect in a Medford bank robbery was arrested Friday after bank employees chased her to a Cummings Street home, according to a police report.

Gina Muccini, 35, of 48 Cummings St. was arrested about 12 p.m. Friday and charged with armed robbery. Shawn Fitzgibbon, also of 48 Cummings St., is charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly attempting to help Muccini by barricading their home after she fled to it, according to one police report. Police recovered $1,900 in cash inside the Cummings Street home.

Find out what's happening in Medfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Muccini and Fitzgibbon were arraigned in Somerville District Court Monday morning; Muccini was released on $2,500 bail and Fitzgibbon was released on personal recognizance, according to court records.

About 10:30 a.m. Friday, police responded to Eastern Bank for a reported robbery. Bank employees said that a "black female or a female with a bad make up job had just robbed a teller" by handing over a note demanding cash that mentioned a gun, according to a Medford Police report. The woman received an unknown amount of cash and fled, the report said.

Find out what's happening in Medfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

When the woman fled the bank, its assistant manager and another employee chased her from the store to the rear of the parking lot, where there is an entrance to Cummings St., and watched her go inside 48 Cummings St., according to the report.

Medford and State Police surrounded the home and demanded anyone inside come out, but received no response, according to a separate police report written by Detective Stephen Le Bert. When a man later identified as Fitzgibbon could be seen attemping to barricade the back door to the home, police forced the door open and arrested both Muccini and Fitzgibbon in the living room, according to the report.

Shortly after, police received permission from the owner of 48 Cummings St. to search the home. Inside, they could smell a strong, bleach-like odor coming from one of the bedrooms, later identified as Muccini's, according to Le Bert's report. A closet in the room had a hatch and ladder leading to the home's attic, where Le Bert found a black trash bag stuffed with women's clothing, a red wig, sunglasses, three tubes of dark make up, sneakers and latex gloves, the report said.

A replica of a black semi-automatic handgun was also found under a dresser in the home, Le Bert wrote. A total of $1,900 was also recovered, according to the report.

A bank employee positively identified Muccini as the woman who robbed the bank after the arrests, according to another police report.

No further court dates have been scheduled for Muccini or Fitzgibbon.

The incident was the second time in five days the bank had been robbed, and the fourth time in nine months, according to police records. Each robbery occurred during the week in the morning. The other robberies remain under investigation.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.