Witnesses help nab 2 alleged bank robbers in Suffolk

Two men accused of robbing two banks in Suffolk earlier this week were arraigned inside a Central Islip courtroom Friday.
Suffolk Police Chief Stuart Cameron says 27-year-old Raymond Peruggi and 32-year-old Damien Beeker, of Ronkonkoma, robbed the TD Bank on Route 112 in Medford on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he says the duo robbed a Chase Bank in Miller Place.
"It is believed that Mr. Peruggi was the individual that entered the bank, passed a note to the teller, and left with the cash in both instances," says Cameron. He added that Beeker was the lookout during those robberies.
Chief Cameron says witnesses saw the men depart from the second robbery scene in the Mitsubishi Lancer. On Thursday, detectives found the car at a Centereach hotel. Peruggi and Beeker were inside and promptly arrested.
Both men are being held on $50,000 bond.
The judge pointed out that this isn't Peruggi's first run-in with the law. He has four prior felony convictions.
In January 2014, Peruggi was arrested and charged with stealing the East Moriches fire chief's SUV and then leading police on a wild chase that ended when he crashed the vehicle into a snowbank. He later served three years in prison. The judge said Peruggi was just released on parole this past January.
If Peruggi is convicted, he is facing mandatory upstate imprisonment as a result of his previous convictions.