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| Photo courtesy Conroe PD |
You 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 Conroe Police Department family and I’ve enjoyed my relationship with him,” Conroe police Chief Charlie Ray said today during a press conference. “We’ve had no reason to think bad things about him and it’s just sad.”
According to court documents, Tindall entered the 1st Bank of Conroe on August 11, 2008 wearing gloves, a white motorcycle helmet and aviator sunglasses, vaulted over the teller’s counter and demanded money located in the tellers’ bottom drawer. Apparently, this branch only kept bait money in its top drawers, a practice that is not industry-wide. Once the robber had the money, he jumped back over the counter and went outside, where he drove off in a silver Chevy Malibu. The FBI says no one saw the robber use a weapon.
The very next day, a bank official contacted the FBI, which
investigates all bank robberies, saying that after watching the
security tape, he believed the robber was a Conroe police officer who
sometimes worked security at the bank. The bank official said the
robber both looked like Tindall and that he seemed to know the bank’s
layout and in which drawer the money was kept. A teller told the FBI
that the robber’s voice sounded like Tindall.
For months, the investigation continued. Then in late November
2008, Chief Charlie Ray contacted the FBI to say that after watching
the security tape, he too believed the robber was Tindall based on the
robber’s hand gestures and the way he walked. Additionally, another
member of law enforcement said he thought the helmet the robber wore
looked the same as the one Tindall had worn while go-karting at a
children’s festival event years earlier.
Whoops.
The indictment, which was unsealed today, caps off a seven-month
long investigation. Authorities would not comment on what the motive
may have been but Ray did say that Tindall will be, at least for now,
suspended without pay. Tindall is expected to appear in federal court
for his initial appearance on Wednesday.
“This has been a difficult thing to do,” said Ray. “This is not
just a betrayal of the public’s trust but also of the hard working,
honest officers in our office.”
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2009.