‘Painstaking’ Police Work Yields Arrest in 2007 Greenwich Bank Robbery

Following a lengthy and “painstaking” investigation by the Greenwich Police Department — involving extensive forensics work, including DNA evidence — a Norwalk man was arrested via warrant on Sept. 7 in connection with a bank robbery that occurred in Greenwich in October 2007.

Police said they arrested Edens Gabriel, 23, of Valley View Road, Norwalk, via warrant while he was incarcerated on other charges. Gabriel was reportedly summoned to State Superior Court in Stamford on a Habeas Corpus order, and was subsequently arrested by Greenwich Police. He is charged with first degree robbery, second degree larceny and third degree larceny in connection with the Oct. 5, 2007, robbery of the Old Greenwich branch of Patriot National Bank.

According to a police report, two black male suspects entered the bank brandishing handguns and demanding cash from tellers. After being given an undisclosed sum of money, the suspects fled the scene in a minivan, which was later discovered abandoned a short distance away. According to the report, the minivan was immediately secured by Greenwich Police as evidence.

According to the report, “both the getaway vehicle and the crime scene were painstakingly processed by members of the GPD Forensics Section, resulting in the collection of numerous items of evidence, including DNA swabs of various surfaces/items the suspects were known to have handled.”

“These DNA samples were later sent to the State of Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA extraction, resulting in the development of a DNA profile,” the report states.

Police said after the DNA profile was entered in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), maintained by the State of Connecticut and the FBI, “several persons of interest were developed, including suspect Edens Gabriel.”

According to the report, on March 7, 2008, Gabriel was arrested by Stamford Police on unrelated robbery charges. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on Nov. 25, 2008.

Police said Gabriel’s DNA was collected and entered into the CODIS system in 2010, as a result of his felony conviction. As a result, Greenwich detectives were able to match his DNA to the samples collected.

Gabriel reportedly remains in the custody of the state Department of Correction, and is currently housed in the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Facility in Uncasville. He is scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court in relation to the arrest on Sept. 21.