Three men have been arrested in a burglary that may be connected to a nationwide trend known as “bank-jugging.”
Bank-jugging is a trending crime where suspects wait for customers to withdraw cash at the bank and follow their victims to their next locations to rob them.
On July 2, officers with the Irvine Police Department were investigating two vehicle burglaries in the area where the victims had just withdrawn money.
According to police, they identified the suspect’s vehicle as a black Ford Expedition with a fake license plate.
On Tuesday July 8, officers spotted the Expedition with the fake license plates visiting banks across Orange County, believing they were looking for victims.
The suspects were then seen burglarizing a car in Seal Beach, stealing a banker’s bag after the owner had just conducted a banking transaction, police said. Detectives stopped them and arrested three men.
When detectives searched the suspect’s vehicle, they found the stolen banker’s bag, a fake license plate, burglary tools, a ski mask, and cash.
Maurice James, 24, Samuel Marcus Polite, 20, and Ja Vion Marcell La Shang Mathews, 22, from Texas were arrested and booked at Orange County Jail.
They all face charges including conspiracy, vehicle burglary, felony vandalism, possession of burglary tools, and possession of stolen property.
Detectives are also looking into whether or not the three men were involved in the burglaries on July 2.
“We urge banking customers to be discreet when making cash withdrawals and to be aware of their surroundings. If you withdraw cash, proceed directly to a safe drop-off destination,” Irvine police said.
Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact Detective Mahmood at mmahmood@cityofirvine.org.