Less than one week after a robber demanded cash at the Compass Bank on Edloe Street, West University Place Police are working with an FBI Task Force to try to solve another bank robbery, this one involving a handgun.
The bank robbery happened on Jan. 13 around 3:30 p.m. at the Chase Bank in the 4000 block of Bellaire Boulevard. No customers were inside the bank at the time.
“Two black males entered the bank. One produced a weapon and demanded money,” said West U. Detective David McCurry. “They got it and they left.”
McCurry said the FBI has tied the two suspects to another bank robbery on Washington Avenue in the Houston Heights area, and the pair may have robbed others.
Video surveillance captured images of the man who pulled a handgun on bank employees. He is described as a 45-year-old black male, who was unshaven and appeared about 5-foot-5-inches tall and 215 lbs. The other suspect is described as a 50-something black male, but police do not have images or a specific description.
“We have no particular leads,” McCurry said. “I talked to [the FBI] yesterday and they just have been swamped with other bank robberies.”
The other West U.-area bank robbery happened Jan. 9 at the Compass Bank in West U.’s city center. Police are still investigating the crime. That bank location was also robbed in Dec. 2008.
The recent robbery of banks in West University Place, enforces the argument that an armed police officer should be visibly present in all banks during business hours. For many years, banks hired off-duty police officers and their presence was a strong deterrent to crime. It has become acceptable to either have no police presence or to hire an unarmed security guard. A bank has a responsibility to protect its employees and customers wherever they do business.