Fairhaven Bank Robbery Suspect Prompts Hastings Lockdown

FAIRHAVEN – A 24-year-old Westfield man fled into the woods after allegedly robbing Citizens Bank off Alden Road Wednesday afternoon, prompting a temporary lockdown at nearby Elizabeth I. Hastings Middle School.

After a 30-minute search, Konstantin Gladysh was arrested without incident and charged with armed robbery while masked, larceny over $1,200 and larceny from a building, according to the Fairhaven Police Department.

Officers responded to a robbery call at the 21 Fairhaven Commons Way bank around 2 p.m. Employees told police that a man had passed a teller a note in which he claimed to be armed and demanded cash, though he never showed a weapon.

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The suspect, later identified as Gladysh, allegedly left the building with an undisclosed sum and disappeared into the woods off Bridge Street, about a half-mile away, behind the middle school, police said.

Fairhaven, Acushnet, Mattapoisett and state police, along with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit, formed a perimeter around and searched the wooded area.

Hastings, which was preparing to dismiss students, went into a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution,” according to Fairhaven police.

“To maintain the safety of all students and staff, until we could confirm that the suspect did not have a weapon, we had to treat the situation as if there was one,” Fairhaven Public Schools Superintendent Tara Kohler said in a statement.

The 16-minute lockdown ended at 2:26 p.m., after the suspect was found by the K9 unit and arrested, according to police.

No injuries were reported.

“Thank you to our law enforcement partners who quickly came to provide assistance," Fairhaven Police Department spokesperson Lt. Kevin Kobza said in a news release.

Gladysh, who also had an active warrant for larceny, was scheduled to be arraigned March 17 at New Bedford District Court.