GUILDERLAND — A masked robber stole $2,500 from a man making a night deposit at the Bank of America in a case with striking similarities to an armed robbery at the same bank in May, according to Guilderland Police.

At about 10:05 p.m. on Friday, a man was putting money from his business into the night-deposit box at the 1791 Western Ave. bank when he was approached by a black male, about 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 185 pounds; he was wearing all black with a black ski mask and displayed a black handgun with wood grips, according to police.

At nearly the same time of night — 9:54 p.m. — on Thursday, May 8, a man described as being about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, wearing “a dark colored hooded sweatshirt with a mask covering his face,” displayed a semi-automatic style handgun when he demanded the night-deposit bag from a victim, according to the May release from the police department.

“I guess it’s probably a comfort level,” Investigator Thomas Funk said of someone striking the same place twice, before noting that the four-month span between the two robberies is unusual.  Police believe that the two robberies may have been committed by the same person since both crimes had the same modus operandi and witnesses gave similar descriptions of the suspect.

On Friday, following the robbery, the victim drove to a nearby parking lot to call 911 while a witness found a Guilderland Police officer, who was conducting a traffic stop, two blocks away from the bank, Funk said.

Soon after, the New York State Aviation Unit searched the woods in the area with a helicopter and the State University at Albany Police used a dog to search on foot for about an hour while “the neighborhoods were canvassed,” said Funk.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Guilderland Police Department at 356-1501.