Irvine police arrest 3 for "bank-jugging" and warn of the trending crime
The Irvine Police Department is warning of a crime trend across the nation called "bank-jugging" after three men in Orange County were arrested after they were suspected of committing the crime.
Bank-jugging is when suspects stake out banks and watch for customers who withdraw cash, follow them to their cars, and then burglarize them.
Three men from Texas, Maurice James, 24, Samuel Marcus Polite, 20, and Ja Vion Marcell La Shang Mathews, 22, were arrested this week in Seal Beach. They face charges of conspiracy, vehicle burglary, felony vandalism, possession of burglary tools, and possession of stolen property.
On July 2, officers investigating two vehicle, bank-jugging burglaries in Irvine, identified the suspect vehicle as a black Ford Expedition displaying a license plate of a recently stolen vehicle in Irvine.
As detectives were surveilling the Expedition, they observed the suspects visiting banks across Orange County as it appeared they were looking for victims. In Seal Beach, the suspects burglarized a car and stole a banker's bag from the victim.
Detectives stopped the Expedition and arrested the three suspects and found the stolen banker's bag, a fake license plate, burglary tools, a ski mask and cash. An investigation into the men is ongoing, and if they were involved in the July 2 Irvine cases.
Irvine police are warning banking customers to be discreet when making cash withdrawals and to be aware one's surroundings.