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Credit union robberies were inside job www.privateofficer.com
December 31, 2008
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Credit union robberies were inside job http://www.privateofficer.com
Houston TX Dec 31 2008
chron.com A recent armed robbery at a Spring-area credit union was an inside job a former employee planned with accomplices, federal investigators said Tuesday.
Authorities said the worker also admitted planning and robbing the same credit union a few months earlier.
Houston residents Dorcell Devon Johnson, Dominique Sherrard Ervin, both 19, and Carl Edward Preston Jr., 18, are accused of bank robbery in a criminal complaint.
Investigators say they stole about $200,000 on Nov. 5 from Investex Credit Union in the 200 block of Cypresswood.
In a hearing Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley ordered the trio held without bail while they await trial because he said they pose a danger to the community.
No trial date has been set.
Johnson’s, Ervin’s and Preston’s defense attorneys said they could not comment because they have not had time to review all of the evidence.
According to authorities, Johnson was a customer service worker at the credit union when it was robbed. He was on duty when Preston and Ervin, wearing masks, stormed the bank brandishing shotguns, officials said.
Preston, investigators said, pointed his gun at the credit union’s security guard and took his pistol and cell phone.
He and Ervin then allegedly marched the guard and Johnson to the bank vault, where another employee was working. The gunmen ordered the employees to stuff money into a bag, authorities said.
Then Ervin shot the screen of a security camera television monitor in the vault, and he and Preston fled in a white four-door car that they had parked nearby, officials said.
Kevin Katz, an FBI special agent, testified Tuesday that police became suspicious of Johnson when they watched surveillance tapes of the heist because he appeared to be unafraid during the robbery.
“This is an inside-job bank robbery,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Searle.
Investigators said Johnson had worked at the credit union about two years. He no longer is employed at the institution, they said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office alerted investigators Dec. 18, authorities said, after a deputy found three shotguns and money bundled in stacks with straps marked with the credit union’s name in Johnson’s apartment.
The deputy had gone to the apartment because the landlord called police about a gunshot fired in the unit. No one appeared to be injured.
No one was at the apartment when the deputy arrived, but the landlord unlocked the door and the deputy went inside to check if anyone was hurt.
When investigators spoke with Johnson about the money and guns, he admitted that he had helped plan the theft and that Ervin and Preston were the gunmen, authorities said.
Investigators said that he told Ervin and Preston details about the bank and that they split the stolen money.
Investigators said Ervin and Preston also admitted their roles in the heist.
Johnson further said that he had planned a robbery at the same credit union Aug. 27 with another accomplice.
In that robbery, investigators said, a masked gunman netted about $126,000. Investigators said they have yet to determine the robber’s identity in that bank job.
About $6,000 of the money stolen in the two heists has been recovered.
Investigators said they also received a tip that Johnson, Preston and others had planned to rob another Spring-area bank.
If convicted of bank robbery, Johnson, Ervin and Preston each face up to 20 years in prison, Searle said. Their sentences could be increased because guns were used.
chron.com A recent armed robbery at a Spring-area credit union was an inside job a former employee planned with accomplices, federal investigators said Tuesday.
Authorities said the worker also admitted planning and robbing the same credit union a few months earlier.
Houston residents Dorcell Devon Johnson, Dominique Sherrard Ervin, both 19, and Carl Edward Preston Jr., 18, are accused of bank robbery in a criminal complaint.
Investigators say they stole about $200,000 on Nov. 5 from Investex Credit Union in the 200 block of Cypresswood.
In a hearing Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley ordered the trio held without bail while they await trial because he said they pose a danger to the community.
No trial date has been set.
Johnson’s, Ervin’s and Preston’s defense attorneys said they could not comment because they have not had time to review all of the evidence.
According to authorities, Johnson was a customer service worker at the credit union when it was robbed. He was on duty when Preston and Ervin, wearing masks, stormed the bank brandishing shotguns, officials said.
Preston, investigators said, pointed his gun at the credit union’s security guard and took his pistol and cell phone.
He and Ervin then allegedly marched the guard and Johnson to the bank vault, where another employee was working. The gunmen ordered the employees to stuff money into a bag, authorities said.
Then Ervin shot the screen of a security camera television monitor in the vault, and he and Preston fled in a white four-door car that they had parked nearby, officials said.
Kevin Katz, an FBI special agent, testified Tuesday that police became suspicious of Johnson when they watched surveillance tapes of the heist because he appeared to be unafraid during the robbery.
“This is an inside-job bank robbery,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Searle.
Investigators said Johnson had worked at the credit union about two years. He no longer is employed at the institution, they said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office alerted investigators Dec. 18, authorities said, after a deputy found three shotguns and money bundled in stacks with straps marked with the credit union’s name in Johnson’s apartment.
The deputy had gone to the apartment because the landlord called police about a gunshot fired in the unit. No one appeared to be injured.
No one was at the apartment when the deputy arrived, but the landlord unlocked the door and the deputy went inside to check if anyone was hurt.
When investigators spoke with Johnson about the money and guns, he admitted that he had helped plan the theft and that Ervin and Preston were the gunmen, authorities said.
Investigators said that he told Ervin and Preston details about the bank and that they split the stolen money.
Investigators said Ervin and Preston also admitted their roles in the heist.
Johnson further said that he had planned a robbery at the same credit union Aug. 27 with another accomplice.
In that robbery, investigators said, a masked gunman netted about $126,000. Investigators said they have yet to determine the robber’s identity in that bank job.
About $6,000 of the money stolen in the two heists has been recovered.
Investigators said they also received a tip that Johnson, Preston and others had planned to rob another Spring-area bank.
If convicted of bank robbery, Johnson, Ervin and Preston each face up to 20 years in prison, Searle said. Their sentences could be increased because guns were used.
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