$1M bond set for woman suspected in bank robberies

NORWICH, Conn. — A 34-year-old woman suspected of robbing six southern New England banks in six days has been ordered held on $1 million bond.

Heather Brown was arraigned Tuesday on robbery and larceny charges in the Sept. 21 robbery of a Citizens Bank branch in Montville, Conn. She did not enter a plea and is due back in court Oct. 20.

Brown is also a suspect in robberies in Westerly, R.I., West Springfield, Mass.; and Windsor, Middletown and East Hartford, Conn.

Police say in each case a woman told a teller she had a bomb and left with cash. No explosives were found.

Brown was on probation for a 2006 bank robbery in Groton, Conn. Prosecutors say she has at least 24 prior arrests.

FBI statistics show women committed less than 6 percent of bank robberies in the U.S. in 2008.