Man arrested in Danbury bank robbery

Surveillance photo of a man police believe stole money from the Union Savings Bank, 126 North Street, Wednesday afternoon. Surveillance photo of a man police believe stole money from the Union Savings Bank, 126 North Street, Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Man arrested in Danbury bank robbery 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

DANBURY — A man who police said robbed a downtown branch of Union Savings Bank in a daring daytime heist Wednesday has turned himself in.

Police began searching for the suspect shortly after the North Street branch was robbed around 3 p.m. Police said the man handed a note to a teller saying he had a weapon, then ran off with an undisclosed amount of money. No weapon was shown, police said.

Authorities released surveillance footage of the suspect showing a husky white man wearing a blue hoodie. He was last seen on Hayestown Avenue heading toward Tamarack Avenue.

Acting on a tip, investigators quickly identified a suspect, Michael Zemsky 36, of New York. He turned himself in at the police station around 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

The robbery was the bank’s second in the past year. More than $8,000 taken in February from the bank’s Federal Road branch in Brookfield.

In the earlier case, a man later identified by police as Daniel Rodriguez, of Danbury, carrying a black backpack and wearing a black knit cap and black sunglasses, demanded money from the tellers.

Police at the time said Rodriguez admitted to the robbery and at least one of the bills found in his possession had a serial number recorded by the bank. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a second-degree robbery charge in December and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of parole.

Zemsky is being charged with second-degree robbery and third-degree larceny for Wednesday’s robbery. He was held on a $10,000 bond.

dperrefort@newstimes.com