Jesus Ashanti and Yannick Faris both pleaded innocent to a single charge of assault with intent to rob. Watch video
Jesus Ashanti, left (hiding his face in his jacket), of no known address in Connecticut, and Yannick Fanis, right, of Hartford, walk into Hampden County District Court for their arraignment on bank robbery charges. SPRINGFIELD – Two Connecticut men, suspects in a string of Western Massachusetts bank robberies, pleaded innocent in district court to last Friday’s robbery of the TD Bank on Chestnut Street.
Jesus Ashanti, 34, of no known address in Connecticut, and Yannick J. Faris, 26, of 317 Lyme St., Hartford, were ordered held in lieu of $500,000 cash bail.
Both pleaded innocent to a single charge of assault with intent to rob.
Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said the men are suspects in a recent string of as many as 10 Western Massachusetts bank robberies. A suspect in many of the robberies has been captured in bank surveillance photographs while wearing distinctive hats and a white beard that may be fake or artificially colored.
Assistant District Attorney Richard B. Morse said that Ashanti has four aliases on his out of state record. Morse said Ashanti has 1993 convictions in Connecticut for murder and larceny.
Police responded to the TD Bank at 619 Chestnut shortly before 9:30 a.m. last Friday for report of a black male with a gray beard who demanded all the money in a drawer but then fled the bank before getting any cash.
The Republican photo / Mark M.Murray - Yannick J. Fanis 26 of Hartford, walks into Hampden County District Courtroom one , for his arraignment on bank robbery charges from last week. 
The Republican photo / Mark M.Murray - Jesus Ashanti attempts his hide his face as he stands for arraignment in district court on Monday.A witness saw a black male jump into the trunk of a car parked on Lexington Street, driven by another black male. The witness was able to see that the plate was orange and with blue lettering from New York state.
Less than an hour later, Ludlow police gave out a description of a black male robbing the Citizens Bank in their town.
Police spotted the vehicle a few minutes later traveling on Interstate 91 towards Connecticut and pulled it over. Faris was behind the wheel and Ashanti was found in the trunk, covered with red dye from an exploded dye-pack.
robbery, Delaney said.
Monday’s arraignments of Faris and Ashanti pertain only to the Springfield robbery. The two suspects still face arraignments in Palmer District Court for the Ludlow robbery. The suspect’s arraignment dates in Palmer were not immediately available.
The Springfield and Ludlow crimes follow a string of bank robberies during the past several weeks in at least five Western Massachusetts communities.
West Springfield police arrested a suspect on the morning of Dec. 23 after they chased him into Springfield.
That suspect, Gerund A. Mickens, 35, of Bloomfield, Conn., faces motor vehicle charges and is being held in jail at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow while local police departments tried to determine if he is responsible for six of the recent bank robberies.
Agawam police have a warrant naming Mickens in the Agawam bank robbery, Assistant District Attorney Ingrid Frau said last week.
Police in Chicopee, South Hadley, Springfield, Agawam and Northampton continue their investigations into unarmed bank robberies in those communities last month.
Reporter Buffy Spencer contributed to this story.