Moments of terror yesterday morning at Napoli, in a bank on Via Emilio Scaglione, in the Chiaiano district. A pair of robbers attacked the bank, kidnapping employees and customers for about 40 minutes and taking away a loot of over 12 thousand euros.
The action was lightning-fast and violent. The two criminals, a man and a woman, entered the bank around 9:30. The man, armed with a gun and a knife, threatened those present and forced them to remain still. In the meantime, the woman acted as a lookout outside the building.
Calmly and coolly, the robber waited for the ATM safe to open on time. Once he had access to the money, he forced one of the employees to empty the ATM, collecting approximately 12.300 euros.
After about 40 minutes of terror, the robbers took the loot and fled on foot. The call to 112 was made immediately. The Carabinieri of the Vomero Operations Unit and the Marianella Station intervened on the scene.
Thanks to the images from the video surveillance cameras, the military were able to trace the identities of the two criminals: Giuseppe Merolla, a 38-year-old from Scampia, already under house arrest for other crimes, and his partner, Giuseppina Aceto, a 40-year-old.
The carabinieri then raided the couple's home, where they found the two still in possession of part of the loot, as well as the hat and balaclava used during the robbery and a blank gun with 25 cartridges.
Merolla and Aceto were arrested and taken to prison awaiting trial. They will have to answer for aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
The 2016 robbery in the Ponticelli jewelry store
Merolla rose to prominence in the news for a robbery in 2016 in a jewelry store in Ponticelli at the end of which he shook hands with the victim under the eye of the cameras. He was arrested after a period of fugitivedom in Castel Volturno. In that case too, during the robbery he had escaped from house arrest.
Article published on May 4, 2024 - 08:23 pm
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