Onetime N.J. High School Football Player Charged In 2 Bank Robberies
SCOTCH PLAINS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A former high school football player in New Jersey had seemingly everything going for him, but on Tuesday night, he was under arrest and charged in a bank robbery.
As CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, many were wondering Tuesday night what went wrong with Andrew Miller.
Miller appears smiling in his high school yearbook. He played football at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
But now, the 20-year-old has been charged with robbing two different TD Bank branches – one in Green Brook, the other in Bridgewater.
After the alleged holdups, a SWAT team surrounded Miller's parents' luxury townhome complex with guns drawn. Students at Scotch Plains-Fanwood were upset that someone with such a promising future could end up in such a place.
"It's fairly disappointing. I'm sad to hear that. You know, I feel like, you know, somebody with their football would do something more, but I guess not," said senior Max Maximohinojo.
Scotch Plains police and their K-9 unit tracked Miller back to his hometown Sunday afternoon right after the robberies, spotting him in the parking lot of the Green Brook TD Bank and then chasing him across Route 22 and into a Subway sandwich shop.
"During the search, we were alerted that the suspect potentially was hiding out in the Subway restaurant," said Scotch Plains police Chie Brian Mahoney.
Miller was finally taken into custody afterward. Police said he had no weapon, but had been out on bail for allegedly stealing lottery tickets from a store.
"I think it's just sad, because we're all getting ready to start our lives," said Scotch Plains-Fanwood senior Rebecca Castiglia. "And it's sad when anything happens to anybody like that."
But with the bank robberies, Miller faces more serious charges in Somerset County.
"There was notes that were handed to the bank tellers in those jurisdictions," Mahoney said.
Miller graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School back in 2012. Friends said off camera that he was a great football player.
Miller's mother told CBS2's Sloan by phone that her son went on to college and played football there, and that he had a couple of concussions along the way and after that was never the same afterward.