Post by WaTcHeR on Jan 12, 2007 16:32:58 GMT -5
01.10.2007 - SHENANDOAH, TX - Investigators believe some bank robberies, caught by surveillance cameras, were committed by the same man and Eyewitness News has learned the prime suspect was once a Houston police officer.
From the beginning, investigators believed the bandit was either a police officer or security guard. Now they have made an arrest of a man they say crossed over to the wrong side of the law.
For 8 months, the man in surveillance footage captured from a Wachovia Bank robbery last April was an unknown to police. He dressed as a security guard and demanded cash. In this holdup he pocketed $1,800.
Now investigators think the man's name is Raymond Martinez, 33.
"Right now he's been charged with aggravated robbery and that's in our case back in April at the Wachovia Bank," said Sgt. Bryan Carlisle of the Shenandoah Police Department. "He's a potential suspect in at least three other robberies here in Montgomery County."
That's including the robbery of a Capitol One Bank last August. The robber that time wasn't wearing a security uniform, instead he wore a fanny pack. Investigators thought he had some kind of law enforcement background.
"Simply based upon the way the suspect was dressed and the manner in which he carried himself," said Sgt. Carlisle.
It turns out their suspect, Martinez, is a former Houston police officer. According to HPD, he was on the force from March of 1999 until May of 2004 when he was fired after pleading guilty to official oppression.
Since then, he hasn't held a job, his father told me, but his home and cars are being paid for by family members and not with bank robbery loot.
"If he's been robbing banks and stashing money somewhere, then we don't know, because he and his family have been struggling," said his father in a statement.
His wife declined to comment, calling the accusations a nightmare. She says her husband is innocent. He still faces more charges leveled by officers who once called him a brother in blue.
"We don't enjoy being put in that situation, but we have no qualms in enforcing the law and taking that suspect into custody," said Sgt. Carlisle.
Martinez has only been charged with one bank robbery. His wife says they will prove his innocence.
abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=4928492
From the beginning, investigators believed the bandit was either a police officer or security guard. Now they have made an arrest of a man they say crossed over to the wrong side of the law.
For 8 months, the man in surveillance footage captured from a Wachovia Bank robbery last April was an unknown to police. He dressed as a security guard and demanded cash. In this holdup he pocketed $1,800.
Now investigators think the man's name is Raymond Martinez, 33.
"Right now he's been charged with aggravated robbery and that's in our case back in April at the Wachovia Bank," said Sgt. Bryan Carlisle of the Shenandoah Police Department. "He's a potential suspect in at least three other robberies here in Montgomery County."
That's including the robbery of a Capitol One Bank last August. The robber that time wasn't wearing a security uniform, instead he wore a fanny pack. Investigators thought he had some kind of law enforcement background.
"Simply based upon the way the suspect was dressed and the manner in which he carried himself," said Sgt. Carlisle.
It turns out their suspect, Martinez, is a former Houston police officer. According to HPD, he was on the force from March of 1999 until May of 2004 when he was fired after pleading guilty to official oppression.
Since then, he hasn't held a job, his father told me, but his home and cars are being paid for by family members and not with bank robbery loot.
"If he's been robbing banks and stashing money somewhere, then we don't know, because he and his family have been struggling," said his father in a statement.
His wife declined to comment, calling the accusations a nightmare. She says her husband is innocent. He still faces more charges leveled by officers who once called him a brother in blue.
"We don't enjoy being put in that situation, but we have no qualms in enforcing the law and taking that suspect into custody," said Sgt. Carlisle.
Martinez has only been charged with one bank robbery. His wife says they will prove his innocence.
abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=4928492