NJ man sentenced for 3 bank robberies

FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — Prosecutors say a central New Jersey man who went on a three-month bank robbery spree has been sentenced to 40 years in state prison.

Forty-five-year-old Edgar Torres of Howell Township will have to serve 34 years before he becomes eligible for parole under the sentence imposed Friday. He had been convicted last year on charges related to three robberies that occurred at banks in Monmouth County between December 2010 and February 2011.

Prosecutors say Torres displayed a handgun during each robbery and took steps to conceal his identity. He was arrested several days after the third and final robbery took place, after investigators identified him as a suspect.