Man Guilty In Armed Robbery Of Luxury Car Rental Owner In Morris Co.

RIVERDALE, NJ — A Somerset man has been convicted in the armed robbery of a high-end luxury car rental business in Morris County, prosecutors said.

Officials accused Melvin Banks and a co-defendant of targeting the owner of the business in December 2021, in a conspiracy to rob the owner of jewelry and other items. Riverdale Police investigators found that Banks threatened harm to the victim and his family if they did not drop the charges, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office added.

A jury found Banks, 37, guilty of first-degree armed robbery, first-degree witness tampering, second-degree conspiracy, and third-degree theft of a motor vehicle.

His co-defendant, Daniel Lind, has been sentenced to eight years in New Jersey State Prison after pleading guilty to first-degree robbery and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, officials said.

Police said that on Dec. 4, 2021, Banks was scheduled to return a rented Mercedes to the victim at around 9 p.m. that evening. At 9:31 p.m., officials said Lind robbed the man at gunpoint, and fired a handgun "mere feet from where the victim sat."

Lind then took approximately $100,000 in jewelry and cell phones and fled outside to where Banks was waiting in the rental vehicle, the prosecutor's office said.

"In the hours leading up to the robbery, Banks and Lind were captured on surveillance purchasing black gloves and cable ties at a local Home Depot and returning to the scene of the robbery to await the victim’s arrival," Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said in a news release.

Banks is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22, and is being held in the Morris County Correctional Facility ahead of sentencing.