Serial bank robber Gerod Woodberry was shocked when a Manhattan Criminal Court judge let him go free without paying a cash bail after he knocked over another bank last week.
Woodberry, 42, was busted after allegedly hitting four Chase Bank branches in Chelsea, the Upper West Side and the West Village in one week.
On Jan. 9, he walked out of jail with a smile on his face. “I can’t believe they let me out,” he said as police handed him two $25 gift cards and a free transit voucher to take him anywhere he wanted to go.
“What were they thinking?” Woodberry said as he left.
According to the NY Post, Woodberry headed to a bank branch and slid a note to a teller.
He walked out of the bank $1,000 richer. It was his fifth bank robbery since December 30, 2019.
On Tuesday, he struck again. This time he entered the Citibank on Third Avenue near East 49th Street around 1:20 p.m. and passed a note to a teller.
“This is a robbery. Large bills only please,” the note read, according to police sources.
But unlike his five previous bank heists, Woodberry fled empty handed, according to the Post.
“It fits the description and m.o. of him,” said one high-ranking police source, referring to Woodberry, who is still at large.
When police do catch up to Woodberry, he will likely walk free again, thanks to his good manners and unfailing politeness while robbing banks without a weapon.
Woodberry’s crime spree – and free get out of jail cards – are all thanks to NY mayor Bill de Blasio’s no cash bail reform law that went into effect on Jan. 1.
The law prohibits cash bail for non-violent felony offenders – even bank robbers.
Manhattan Criminal Court judges have no choice but to let repeat offenders like Woodberry go free.
New Yorkers are furious over the new law. Many say they are growing frustrated with de Blasio and other Democrat lawmakers who have turned New York into a safe haven for criminals.
“It’s a circus,” one NYPD insider told the Post. “They made it this way, your local New York state politicians. Wait until a cop gets hurt responding, or a person fleeing the bank. We’ll see how they feel after that.”
The crime rate has gone “through the roof” according to a NY resident on Reddit.com.
One Long Island resident wrote that he lost a cousin who was killed by a drunk driver who had three previous DWIs. The resident said the driver was released without bail 10 days before he crashed into his cousin, killing him, while fleeing from police.
“He just walked out of the court room a free man with no bail again, while my family is planning a funeral,” the resident wrote.
