Bank raid enquiry still open after ‘man number one’ jailed

THE LEAD detective in the Stag bank robbery investigation has paid tribute to the witnesses who provided “exceptional testimony” against Michael Dunphy.
Michael DunphyMichael Dunphy
Michael Dunphy

Det Insp Mark Monteiro said: “I’m absolutely delighted we have got a result for the victims and the families caught up in what I would describe as particularly horrendous offending by Michael Dunphy.

“I think it would have been frightening, horrific and something that, within a lifetime, no member of the public would want or need.

“From the outset, the force as a whole and the staff dedicated to this enquiry were absolutely focussed on nothing other than getting a good outcome and I’m really delighted that we have the ‘man number one’, Michael Dunphy, referred to in the trial as ‘the angry man’, who, from the evidence we provided in court, was the facilitator of this offending.

“From the beginning, clearly, there was a need to ensure that we collated all the evidence from the scene, witnesses and the victims.

“They provided exceptional testimony in terms of the descriptions provided, the routes taken by the offenders and how the actual offending panned out at the bank and at the disposal site of the stolen vehicle used in the offence.”

Det Insp Monteiro also thanked witnesses who were dropping their children off at school who came forward to provide evidence during the investigation.

“This was the community of Rotherham, people who work in Rotherham, people who take their children to school in Rotherham, coming together and supporting South Yorkshire Police in putting together a strong case,” he said.

He said evidence gathered from security footage, number plate recognition technology and telecoms companies supported their case that Dunphy was the key suspect in the case.

“It sends out a clear message to anyone wanting to travel to South Yorkshire to commit offences that we will do all we can to gather the best evidence and bring those responsible forward for prosecution,” he said.

Det Insp Monteiro said other individuals had been arrested and the enquiry would remain open to bring anyone else connected to the incident to justice.

However, he said he did not believe that, based on the evidence, they were involved in organising the robbery.

“As the senior investigating officer for the investigation, I’m absolutely satisfied that the man who did this was Michael Dunphy,” he said

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