Doral Police Round Up Four Suspected "Bank Juggers"
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - It's something we have all thought about from time to time. When we go to the bank, or make an ATM withdrawal, is there anyone waiting to steal our money?
After a rash of these kind of thefts in Doral, police even coined a term for it, "jugging," which refers to bad guys who follow people who withdraw cash to a second location. When the person goes inside the store or restaurant, the "bank juggers" burglarize their vehicles in search of the withdrawn cash.
In the last couple of months, there have been 18 such burglaries in Doral so police set a surveillance operation at a couple of area banks.
On October 14th, an undercover detail spotted four guys in a Chevrolet Impala acting suspiciously at a Bank of America branch in the 3000 block of NW 87th Avenue. Detectives said the four men entered the bank numerous times and pretended to make transactions at its walk up ATM.
The undercover detectives followed the men to several other banks until they reached another Bank of America branch on NW 107th Avenue.
After a few minutes they followed a white Cadillac Escalade as it left the bank's parking lot and drove to a nearby Best Buy store.
The driver of the Impala, identified as 23-year old Elliott Reed III, reportedly pulled into next to the Escalade and then they waited for its driver to go inside.
With 21-year old Samuel Watkins and 29-year old Antonio Wilson acting as lookouts, Jarvis Rivers, 23, used a window punch to smash in a rear window on the Escalade and steal an envelope from inside the vehicle, according to police.
The envelope contained $2,000 in cash which police believe had just been recently withdrawn from the bank.
"The Crime Suppression Team was able to follow them to another parking lot, where they actually saw them in action breaking into the victim's car and taking the victim's money," said Doral Police Capt. Carlos Arango.
Police moved in and took all four men into custody. They've been charged with burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief.
The same type of theft happened to CBS4 photographer Abel Castillo in September at 102nd and Flagler after withdrawing money from the bank.
It was like something right out of the criminal's playbook.
"When I got into the car, I put the envelope on my visor and then drove the car about 800 feet," said Castillo.
He left the car only for a few minutes in broad daylight in a busy parking lot.
"When I looked, this whole window was busted in, glass all over the place," said Castillo. "I looked to see what was stolen. Sure enough, as soon as I went to the visor and brought it down, the money was gone."
Castillo, like many others, is cautious when going to the ATM.
"I try to put my hand (shows covering keypad), when I'm putting the numbers, just be careful about it," said bank customer William Castano.
But often that caution ends when people pull out of the parking lot.
"Are you really paying that close of attention?" CBS4's Ted Scouten asked a bank customer.
Alison Spiess replied, "No, not really. Sometimes yes, sometimes no."
