UPDATE: Suspected 'Serial Bank Robber,' Alleged Accomplice Arrested

(Editor's note: This article was updated on Wednesday, June 1 at 1:48 p.m.)

Law enforcement agents have arrested two suspects in the branch on Main Street in Melrose—one of seven such robberies the man and woman are accused of.

The FBI announced in a press release on Wednesday that last night, 26-year-old Christopher Decareau of Peabody was arrested near an Eastern Bank branch in Andover that he was allegedly casing, and that his alleged accomplice, 24-year-old Jenifer Sannizzaro, was arrested nearby.

The arrests came as a result of a tip received by law enforcement officials after the FBI and Massachusetts Bankers Association Tip Program, following the Melrose robbery on May 19, offered a combined $5,000 reward for information leading to the charging and arrest of the bank robber.

FBI, State Police, Melrose Police and other local police departments worked jointly in the investigation and surveillance that eventually led to the duo's arrest.

Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz said that Decareau had been caught "going into a bank putting Band-Aids on his fingers" to avoid leaving behind fingerprints, while also carrying the same note he had used to rob a Bank of Canton branch on Wednesday, May 25.

In addition to the Canton robbery and the Eastern Bank robbery in Melrose two weeks ago, Decareau and Sannizzaro are suspects in the following robberies:

• April 25, 2011: TD Bank north, 470 Main St., Reading, MA
• May 3, 2011 East Boston Savings Bank, 1755 Revere Beach Parkway, Everett, MA
• May 9, 2011: Eastern Bank, 771 Salem St., Lynnfield, MA
• May 15, 2011: TD Bank North, 600 Loring Ave., Salem, MA

Special Agent Greg Comcowich, FBI Boston media coordinator, previously told Melrose Patch that the agency believes those robberies were all related.

"The FBI believes it’s the same guy," Comcowich said.

In a May 20 announcement, the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force described the suspect as a "serial bank robber." Most, if not all of the crimes, featured the suspect passing a note to a teller threatening harm while not actually showing a weapon, and then fleeing on foot.

The following is the press release issued by the FBI on Wednesday:

In a joint investigation, Massachusetts police departments from Reading, Lynnfield, Salem, Melrose, Canton, Braintree, Andover, Peabody, Tewksbury and Gloucester, along with the Massachusetts State Police and FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force arrested a man and woman who were suspected of allegedly robbing a series of banks. Christopher Decareau, (26), of Peabody, MA was arrested on May 31, 2011, at approximately 5:00 p.m. near a branch of Eastern Bank located at 60 Main Street, Andover, MA. His alleged accomplice, Jenifer Sannizzaro,(24), of Gloucester, MA was arrested nearby.

On May 20, 2011, the FBI issued a press release requesting the public’s assistance to identify an individual who was allegedly responsible for a series of bank robberies in Eastern Massachusetts from April 25, 2011 through May 19, 2011. Subsequently, a tip from the public led to the identification of Decareau as a person of interest. The two had been under surveillance by law enforcement agencies prior to their arrest.

Decareau and Sannizzaro are expected to make an initial appearance in Lawrence District Court today.