Customers Describe Bank Robbery After Suspect's Arrest

A man was arraigned Thursday after police say he robbed a Massachusetts bank last month.

For the first time, details about what exactly happened inside the Bridgewater Savings Bank on Main Street.

"This gentleman come up, and grabbed her by the neck, and pulled her back," customer John Texeira explained. "He put a gun to her head."

"I immediately dialed 911 on my phone, and stuck it back into my pocket," said Al Cronin, who was in the waiting area.

Texeira was speaking with the bank manager near the teller's counter when investigators say the manager was accosted by 23-year-old Jameil Hodge of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.

"He told me to put my hands up and stand against the wall," Texeira said.

Surveillance footage shows the frightening scene, as the robber held the bank manager in a chokehold.

"I could hear coming out of my pocket, '911, what's your emergency?' I couldn't answer because now the bank was quiet. He's got the gun, he's flashing it at the tellers, he's got it up against the manager's head," Cronin said.

Court documents show that after the suspect entered the bank, he grabbed a lollipop, which could be seen sticking out of his mouth, before assaulting the manager and saying this wasn't a game, that he was a murderer and he wanted to kill today.

"She was talking to him, quite a bit of the time, saying 'there's no need for anybody to get hurt,'" Cronin said. "At one point he said, 'You know, I don't care if I shoot anybody, I've killed people before.'"

Only necn was in court Thursday when Hodge was arraigned. He was caught in New York earlier this week.

Police say when he made his escape from the bank, he got away with $30,000.

"When he got out, he did like a casual jog, like he was just out for some exercise, and then he just disappeared," Texeira said.

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