Police Respond To Bank Robbery In North Austin (Updated)

NORTH AUSTIN, TEXAS — Austin police responded to the city's fifth bank robbery of the year on Tuesday, this one on the city's north side.

According to the Austin Police Department, the Bank of America branch at 12574 Research Blvd. was hit just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday. A police officer briefing reporters said the suspect — a white man standing at around five feet, ten inches tall last seen wearing a black jacket, white shirt and ball cap — entered the bank before demanding cash before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money.

The suspect fled on foot traveling southbound on Research Boulevard, police said. No weapon was displayed in the course of the robbery, the officer added. Police are investigating the case, and urge anyone with information to contact their bank robbery tip line at (512) 974-5092.

Given clear surveillance camera images later released by the APD, the suspect has a good chance of being caught. The man seen on the camera footage appears to have made no attempt to hide his identity, save for wearing a ball cap atop his head. The imagery captured on the bank surveillance cameras is unusually crisp, unlike those captured at other such crime scenes.

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On Thursday, police updated the suspect's description by conveying the suspect has tattoos on his head and possibly more on his arms hands and around one of his eyes. In alerting to this, police issued another security surveillance camera image.

Image provided by Austin Police Department

The incident marked the fifth time a bank has been robbed in Austin so far this year, coming on the heels of two bank robberies that occurred on the same day, Jan. 18:

• The city's first bank robbery of the year occurred at the Prosperity Bank branch at 11545 Research Blvd. last month just before 10:30 a.m. Briefing reporters, officer Destiny Silva said the suspect entered the bank, demanded money and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect is described as a white, heavyset, middle-aged man who is bald, Silva said. He was last seen wearing a gray sweater with a white T-shirt underneath. The man fled on foot after securing the cash, observed heading northbound.
• Two hours later on Jan. 18 at around 12:40 p.m., the Wells Fargo Bank branch on 6501 Airport Blvd., also in North Austin, was robbed. There, a man entered the bank while demanding money before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect in that incident is described as a white man with dark hair and receding hairline. The man was further described as being of medium build had sunglasses on top of his head at the time of the incident, Silva said, and was clad in a dark sweatshirt and blue jeans. The suspect fled on foot in a southbound routed.
• A mere week later, on Jan. 25, the Bank of America branch on the intersection of East 39th Street and Interstate 35 was robbed at around 4:30 p.m.. The suspect is said to have demanded cash from a teller before fleeing on foot headed westbound on 39th Street, Senior Police Officer Marcus Davis said in an impromptu press briefing. The suspect, who displayed a weapon, left with an undisclosed amount of cash. He was described as a Hispanic man in his 40s standing at five feet, two inches tall last seen wearing a black zip-up hoodie and jeans, Davis said.
• Another bank robbery also occurred on Dec. 18, 2018. In that incident, police received a call about the robbery at around 4:11 p.m. at the Compass Bank branch on 321 W. 6th St. Bank officials told police the suspect passed a note to the teller demanding money before leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash. No weapon was displayed, and no injuries were reported. The suspect was described as a white male estimated to be in his 20s. He was last seen wearing a light-colored hoodie and dark pants.

Police aren't ruling out if the bank robberies are connected, the officer who briefed reporters said on Tuesday.

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>>> Bank surveillance camera images of suspect via Austin Police Department