Lengthy Prison Term For Man In Armed Robbery Of Morris Co. Business

RIVERDALE, NJ — A Somerset man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of a high-end luxury car rental business in Morris County, prosecutors said.

Officials said Melvin Banks, 37, also threatened to harm the victim and the family if they did not drop the charges. Banks and a co-defendant targeted the business in a scheme to steal more than $100,000 in jewelry and cell phones in 2021, said officials.

In February, a jury found Banks guilty of first-degree armed robbery, first-degree witness tampering, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, and third-degree theft of a motor vehicle.

Judge Claudia Jones sentenced him to 30 years for the charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, consecutive to 20 years served for the first-degree witness tampering charge. Banks was also sentenced to a concurrent five-year term for the theft of a motor vehicle charge.

He will be eligible for parole after 25 and a half years, prosecutors said.

Banks' co-defendant, Daniel Lind, has been sentenced to eight years in New Jersey State Prison after pleading guilty to first-degree robbery and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, officials said.

Police said that on Dec. 4, 2021, Banks was scheduled to return a rented Mercedes to the victim at around 9 p.m. and coordinated a meet-up. At 9:31 p.m., officials said Lind robbed the man at gunpoint, and fired a handgun "mere feet from where the victim sat."

Lind then took approximately $100,000 in jewelry and cell phones and fled outside to where Banks was waiting in the rental vehicle, the prosecutor's office said previously.

"In the hours leading up to the robbery, Banks and Lind were captured on surveillance purchasing black gloves and cable ties at a local Home Depot and returning to the scene of the robbery to await the victim’s arrival," Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said.

Officials also said that while Riverdale Police were investigating, Banks "sent messages threatening harm to the victim and the victim’s family if the victim did not drop the charges."