Man who robbed N.J. bank at gunpoint now facing federal charge, officials say

A man who allegedly robbed a Monmouth County bank at gunpoint last month is now facing a federal charge, authorities announced Friday.
Jeffrey L. Kniffin, 50, of Wall Township, was accused of walking into a Bank of America branch located on State Highway 35 in Wall Township on Oct. 23 and showing the teller and other employees that he was armed with a gun, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey.
He told the employees, “Don’t do anything stupid,” before taking cash from the teller and fleeing the bank on foot, the office said.
An off-duty Wall Township police officer was driving in the vicinity of the bank when he learned of the robbery. As he was approaching it, he saw a man matching the description of the suspect riding a bicycle, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement last month.
The officer followed Kniffin to the front of his home where he would ultimately be apprehended, prosecutors said.
At the time of his arrest, he was found to have a loaded firearm and more than $17,000 in cash, according to Friday’s release.
He was charged with one count of armed bank robbery by federal prosecutors and was detained after his appearance Friday in Trenton federal court.
Locally, he was charged with one count of first-degree armed robbery, one count of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of fourth-degree possession of hollow point bullets, the prosecutor’s office said.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at [email protected].