Police: Old Bridge woman had role in robbing bank
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

PHOTO: SOMERSET PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE Jennifer Upadhyay of Old Bridge has been charged in a Franklin Twp. bank robbery.

OLD BRIDGE — Police arrested a 24- year-old township woman Dec. 30 for her alleged role in the robbery of a Franklin Township bank where she worked as a teller.

Jennifer Upadhyay of Southwood Drive was working at the PNC Bank located at 675 Franklin Blvd. in the Somerset section of Franklin Township Dec. 29 when the robbery occurred. The following day, police arrested her after finding discrepancies between her original statements and what they saw on surveillance tapes, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest.

A subsequent search of Upadhyay's home Dec. 31 uncovered "a large sum of currency, which was determined to be a portion of the proceeds from the bank robbery," according to information provided by Forrest's office. Detectives from the prosecutor's Major Crimes Squad, Franklin Township Police Department and Old Bridge Police Department were at the scene to investigate.

The robbery took place around 4:54 p.m. Dec. 29, when David Lee, 29, of Roselle, approached Upadhyay's window and presented a note demanding money, according to police. Upadhyay then gave him an undisclosed amount of money.

Franklin Township police received a call at approximately 4:57 p.m. and responded immediately. Detectives from the prosecutor's Major Crimes Squad and the FBI also responded to investigate.

After the robbery, Upadhyay gave detectives a statement regarding the crime and described the robber to police, but did not say that she knew the suspect, authorities said.

When detectives later viewed surveillance footage of the robbery, Franklin Township Detective Ordel Taylor noticed inconsistencies between Upadhyay's report and what he saw. After a second interview with Upadhyay, police arrested her. Early the next morning, they recovered

the money, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

As detectives were searching Upadhyay's home, another group of detectives, along with Roselle police officers, found Lee and arrested him at his East Fourth Avenue residence in Roselle. Upon searching Lee's bedroom, police reported seeing a "large sum" of currency in plain sight. The money, determined to be gleaned from the robbery, was seized, along with the clothing that police said Lee wore on the day of the robbery.

The investigation revealed that Upadhyay's boyfriend, Travis Picou, 30, of Rahway, was also involved, Forrest stated. When detectives contacted Picou via phone, he refused to turn himself in. However, on Jan. 2 detectives observed Picou exiting a law office in Roselle, and arrested him across the street at apartment building. He was charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Forrest, Chief Novick of the Franklin Township Police Department, and the FBI asked that anyone with information on the robbery call the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-2300; the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Squad at 908-231-7100; the FBI Somerset Office at 732-469-7986 or the Somerset County Crime Stoppers' Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS.