40-year sentence for bank robberies

A Howell man convicted of robbing banks in Ocean Township and Howell during a three-month armed bank robbery spree was sentenced Friday to 40 years in state prison, Acting Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
Edgar Torres, 45, of Howell, was sentenced to 40 years in state prison by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge John T. Mullaney, Jr. subject to the No Early Release Act, which means that Torres will have to serve 85 percent of the 40-year sentence, or 34 years, before he is eligible for parole.
Torres was convicted in November of the Dec. 22, 2010, robbery of the Provident Bank in Howell; Jan. 24, 2011, robbery of the Chase Bank in Howell; and Feb. 16, 2011, robbery of the Chase Bank in Ocean Township following a six-week trial before Judge Mullaney.
Prosecutors say in each of the three bank robberies, Torres took steps to conceal his identity before entering the bank, where he approached a teller displaying a handgun and demanded money.
A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office with the Howell and Ocean Township police departments identified Torres as the person responsible for each of the bank robberies culminating with his arrest on Feb. 25, 2011.