Subject: Robbery

• She Really Should Try a Subtler Shade of Red

  March 19, 2007

• Miss Pop Rocks: Public Restroom Shenanigans, or Am I the Only One with Questions for the Cops Who Caught Larry Craig?

  September 4, 2007

• Plague Of The Nicknamed Bandits

  August 14, 2008

• Crime-Fighting Tactic: Just Say No

  August 22, 2008

• Houston Company Gets Sued Over Alleged Magazine-Subscription Scam

  October 8, 2008

• Houston Now Has A "Dirty Dozen" Bank Robbers; Nickname Expected To Result In Arrests Soon

  Bank robberies are sprouting up like bankruptcies all over the Houston area, and the FBI and Crime Stoppers has decided to do something about it -- break out the nicknames.The two organizations officially announced today a list of the "Dirty Dozen" bank robbers in the Houston area, including "The Note Passer" and the "Point Blank Bandit."Unfortunately, the 10 other suspects are identified only by such labels as "Female Robber" or "Black Man w/Acne" or (gasp!) their actual names.How is that suppo

  November 25, 2008

• Bayou Body County: Killed While Cleaning Up Some Beer Cans

  Photo courtesy HCSOAfter less than three months of investigating, the Houston police think they've finally got their man. Investigators have charged 23-year-old Kermit Ladell Johnson with murder for allegedly killing man in a parking lot in March.Police accuse Johnson of shooting 39-year-old Steven Torres several times in the upper body early in the morning on March 10 outside an apartment building on the 4200 block of Wilmington. Residents heard gunshots in the parking lot, police say, and then

  June 2, 2009

• The Bank Robbery Record Has Been Broken!

  Last year was a banner year for bank robberies in Houston, more than doubling the number from the year before.But last year's record has already tumbled, and we've still got a month to go.Doing their best to help in that effort are the robbers who keep hitting the IBC branch bank at 3939 Montrose, near the University of St. Thomas.They've been hit three times since September 1, FBI special agent Pat Villafranca tells Hair Balls.

  December 1, 2008

• West U? They're Robbing Banks In West U?

  Famous bank robber Willie Sutton -- who lived in a time when bank robbers became famous -- was once asked why he robbed banks."Because that's where the money is," he replied.So probably we shouldn't be surprised that Houston's rash of bank robberies (it's been a record-setting year) has come to include the leafy, bucolic confines of West University Place.

  December 11, 2008

• Crime & Punishment

  March 24, 1994

• The Gangs Among Us

  July 14, 1994

• The First Two Local Bank Robberies of the New Year in Houston

  Members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Houston Bank Robbery Task Force were probably still nursing their hangovers when they were called to not one but two bank robberies on the first business day of the new year.

  January 5, 2009

• Justice Delayed

  August 3, 1995

• He's Not Only Silver-Haired, He's Reckless

  The "Reckless Robber" has struck again.Although if he's so "reckless," as the FBI has dubbed him, why's he so successful?Maybe it's the silver hair. ("This unique fellow spray paints his hair silver prior to his robberies, perhaps thinking it makes him harder to recognize!" says FBI spokeswoman Patricia Villafranca.)A Wachovia branch at 235 West 20th was hit this week by the guy, who apparently got his name because he has waved a gun around "carelessly" on previous robberies (The FBI has such hi

  January 23, 2009

• The Reckless Robber Goes For The Bald Look

  Now the Reckless Robber is just toying with us.He pulled off his sixth bank robbery Wednesday, but -- much more importantly -- he abandoned the silver-hair trademark that had sent the FBI's PR department into paroxysms of outrage.The dude is now bald. In the latest security-camera video, he looks like David Cross on Arrested Development.How reckless can you get?The FBI's e-mail to the media promised "gripping details" of the latest incident in its official release, and it -- maybe, sorta, not re

  February 5, 2009

• Rough Justice

  May 22, 1997

• Weak Robber

  November 12, 1998

• Read My Lips. My Freakishly Colored Lips.

  The FBI always comes up with cool names for bank robbers, and the G-Men (and G-Women) didn't let Hair Balls down today: following a robbery at the midtown Wachovia Bank this mornings, authorities nabbed a suspect with freakishly colored lips. And now the FBI thinks he might be "Read My Lips" - a unique fellow who robbed two other Midtown banks this week. "This suspect has a condition causing his lips to have unusual coloration, and investigation is ongoing to determine if he is 'Read My Lips,'"

  March 6, 2009

• Cop Moonlights At Bank, Robs It, Gets Recognized

  Photo courtesy Conroe PDYou know the expression, "Don't shit where you eat?" Well, you could probably add "Don't rob your own employer or you'll be recognized and arrested" to the list.Earlier today, the FBI and Conroe Police Department announced that 20-plus year Conroe PD veteran Sgt. Michael Tindall has been charged in federal court with bank robbery for allegedly stealing $28,672 from the bank where he worked as a security guard in his off time.Tindall "has been a friend and part of the Conr

  March 24, 2009

• Bank Robberies Continue To Soar In Houston

  Photo courtesy FBIBank robbers had a banner year in Houston in 2008, but it appears 2009 is going to be even better. (Or worse, if you're a law-abiding citizen.)FBI Special Agent Patricia Villafranca says robberies are up in a big, big way: "The Houston Bank Robbery Task Force, which investigates bank robberies within Houston and Harris County, reports that from January 1 through April 1 there have been 32 bank robberies in 2009. For the same period in 2008 there were 23 robberies," she says.Sh

  April 2, 2009

• News of the Weird

  September 16, 1999

• One Day, Four Bank Robberies

  Photo courtesy FBIBad day to be working in, or visiting, a bank.Four Houston banks were robbed today, the FBI says.One woman hit up two in the same strip center, which is certainly a time-saving strategy that should be applauded, if it wasn't for the whole robbing-a-bank part. Or the fact that the 60-year-old got arrested shortly after her escapade."Witnesses at both robberies gave police a licens- plate number and patrol officers quickly tracked the vehicle and subject down a short distance awa

  April 13, 2009

• Axman at the Houston Chronicle and Bank-Robbing Cops

  Highlights from the Blog at HOUSTONPRESS.COM

  April 2, 2009

• Amazingly, the Comets Couldn't Survive

  Who's Got Next?

  December 11, 2008

• Phony Folksy

  Linklater tries to break out of the slacker doldrums, but misfires

  March 26, 1998

• An Ambitious 19-Year-Old Teller Learns Banks Do Double-Check Withdrawals

  The Wachovia branch in Midtown was robbed today -- one Twitter report read "Man came in, did the usual I have a gun' patted his normal groin area, held up the bank. Bank is now in lock-down" -- but really, bank robberies have gotten so ho-hum these days.Unless the robbing is an inside job.Like the one done by Brooke Nelius of Conroe, whose indictment was announced today by the US Attorney's office.Just 19 years old, Nelius is charged with taking full advantage of her teller position at an Amegy

  April 16, 2009

• Three Days Too Many

  First, a botched robbery case. Now, a botched punishment for the HPD cop involved.

  February 17, 2005

• Truth and Consequences

  Sometimes in the game of cops and robbers, telling your story is no defense

  August 26, 2004

• The Devil You Say

  Was Jeffery Prible the cold-blooded murderer of an entire family? Or the gullible target of an opportunistic jailhouse informant?

  December 5, 2002

• Best Local Girl Gone Bad

  Socialite Sanam Soudavar

  September 26, 2002

• In Search of Lost Time

  Robert Conran jumped from the frying pan and into the fire. Then they turned up the heat.

  June 20, 2002

• Prose and Cons

  Crusading convicts turned the docile Echo newspaper into a voice for prison reform. Fellow inmates cheered, but alarmed TDCJ officials preferred silence.

  August 23, 2001

• Down in the Valley

  Houston author Kathleen Cambor places her readers at ground zero of the Johnstown flood

  January 18, 2001

• The Big Score

  A roving band of young men took to the streets of Montrose, committing more than 20 armed robberies in one week, police say. One guy was shot. No one was killed. A lot of people were terrified. Most times, the robbers' "loot" was a couple of bucks.

  December 14, 2000

• Down for the Count

  "El Matador" Chavez fought his way to the top of the boxing ranks. Now he hopes to make his greatest comeback - if the INS will let him in the ring.

  June 29, 2000

• Gang of One

  Critics say cops and prosecutors are too quick to label some minorities as gangsters

  February 17, 2000

• Death (Row) Watch

  Odell Barnes joins a growing list of death row inmates whose convictions have become a lot less clear-cut during the appeals process.

  January 27, 2000

• Nice Girls With Guns

  Kingwood High friends say the girls were "Sweet." Adults say "Well-Mannered." Cops say "armed robbers."

  September 16, 1999

• News of the Weird

  April 15, 1999

• Bullet Proof

  The D.A.'s office gets under the skin of an accused robber

  September 26, 1996

• Proud Of Your Tattoos -- Even During A Bank Robbery

  Here's today's tip for Houston bank robbers: If the FBI's press release about you is able to note a detail like "he even had a skull tattooed on the back of his head," you're probably not taking that extra step to disguise your identity.Now, if you hang out in a colony of a couple thousand people who have visible skulls tattoed onto the back of their head, you're probably OK.But would it kill you to put on a hat? Maybe one of those Manny Ramirez hats the LA Dodgers (used to) sell with fake shoul

  May 11, 2009

• R.I.P. Frankie Cooper of Grave Robbers

  [Update: Rocks Off has learned Cooper had a congenital defect that enlarged his heart. See the comments section for information on the July 10 memorial show at Walter's on Washington.] Word has come through the Houston music world that we have lost yet another young musician. Details are very few and far between but we have learned that guitarist Frankie Cooper of Houston horrorcore giants Grave Robbers passed away last week. He was 23 years old. Formed almost four years ago, Grave Robbers have

  June 30, 2009

• Texas Tries, But Can't Lead The Nation In Bank Robberies

  As faithful Hair Balls readers know, Houston loves it some bank robbin'. The FBI office here eagerly hands out nicknames to robbers (Best one yet: the fiend called "Read My Lips" because he has some ailment that discolors his lips).We've had polite robbers, reckless robbers, guys dressed as construction workers, robbers whose sense of fashion the FBI found wanting and worthy of criticism.What we haven't had, though, is enough bank robberies to lead the nation. This is very disappointing for the

  July 6, 2009

• Bayou Body Count: A Case Of Bad Timing

  ​Some people simply don't have good timing.Such was the case for 35-year-old Christina Stonebarger.On Sunday, Stonebarger and her friend Michelle Stansel, 36, were hanging out in Stonebarger's room at a motel at 12600 South Main, where both women lived. For some reason, police say, the two friends started arguing at about 5 a.m. when suddenly Stonebarger grabbed a knife and plunged it into Stansel's chest, killing Stansel. Stonebarger then fled.As time clicked by, Stonebarger thought it migh

  September 3, 2009

• The World's Most Unfortunately Dressed Bank Robber

  The FBI has put out the alert for a new bank robber, one who knocked off a Memorial Drive Wachovia and a west-side Bank of America last week.This is not just any bank robber, though. This dude has style. A very outdated, ridiculous style.Photo courtesy FBI​The FBI is calling him the "Sweatin' to the Oldies" Robber, but their release on him seems to be missing key bits of information. In the interest of public service, we include some further items, none of which have been actually "checked" i

  September 3, 2009

• Bank Robbers Aren't Even Trying Hard These Days

  He's older and well dressed, robbing a bank. ​A couple bank robberies this week in the area have us wondering if it's too easy to rob a bank these days. Take the "older, well dressed man" who robbed a bank yesterday in northwest Houston:He approached the teller counter and took the teller by surprise when he demanded she fill his blue plastic shopping bag with cash. When the teller hesitated, he aggressively repeated the demand. The teller complied and the robber quietly and calmly exited th

  October 29, 2009

• Repeat Subway Robber Hits the Same Sandwich Shop Three Times

  A disgruntled ex-Subway mascot, perhaps?​Fresh bread, healthy options, elaborate sneeze-guards -- some people just really love Subway. And Crime Stoppers and local law enforcement are asking for the public's help in identifying "The Repeat Subway Robber" -- a dude who's robbed the Subway at 2002 Runnels at least three times since September 22. According to Crime Stoppers, the thin black male "pulls up to the front of the Subway...and goes inside the sandwich shop. He jumps over the counte

  October 30, 2009

• Friends Can Be Cruel

  courtesy of HPD Moses Reed​Houston police have closed the books on yet another homicide after tracking down the final suspect in a deadly carjacking.Moses Reed, 17, was arrested last week and charged with murder for the July 15 slaying of 53-year-old Huu Khanh Phung. Detectives had previously arrested a juvenile on the same charge who was allegedly connected to the killing.Police say that Phung was driving along in a silver Chevy Cobalt when he stopped at a red light at the interse

  November 2, 2009

• Game Time: Bad Boys, What'cha Gonna Do

  ​That noise you hear is Florida coach Urban Meyer laughing his ass off. In case you missed it, news broke this morning that three University of Tennessee Volunteer football players -- freshman defensive backs Janzen Jackson and Mike Edwards, as well as freshman running back Nu'Keese Richardson -- have been arrested for attempted armed robbery.According to a Knoxville City Police report, the incident goes like this -- the reported victims were sitting in their car minding their own business ou

  November 12, 2009

• Bayou Body Count: A Stench At The Airport

  ​George Bush Intercontinental Airport may not be on the same level as mythic Mafioso burial grounds such as JFK in New York or the airport in Newark, N.J., but it still finds a stiff every once in a while.Last week, airport police got a call about a terrible stench coming from the parking lot of the D terminal. And as we have learned here at Bayou Body Count, a foul stench coming from a parking lot can only mean one thing: a body.Sure enough, police tracked the smell down to a Ford Focus parke

  November 19, 2009