Hockley Man Arrested Wednesday in Friday's Cypress Bank Robbery; Officials Say He Is on Parole for a 2012 Bank Robbery
Surveillance footage and a license plate led investigators from the PNC Bank on Cypress Rose Hill Road to a Hockley address - and to a Wednesday arrest in a case where, fortunately, no one was hurt.
HOUSTON - A Hockley man has been arrested in Friday's robbery of the PNC Bank on Cypress Rose Hill Road in Cypress, Harris County law enforcement and FBI Houston say. Samuel Williams II was arrested at his Hockley home and taken into Harris County Jail for the robbery, FOX 26 Houston reported. The robbery itself, which this station covered Friday, was over in moments: a detective at the scene said a man approached a bank teller, demanded cash and threatened that he had a weapon; the teller complied and handed over money, and the man left on foot. No one was hurt, and it is still not clear whether the suspect actually had a weapon.
The trail back to Hockley ran through the parking lot. According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, surveillance footage showed the suspect coming to and leaving the bank in a white Ford Crown Victoria, and the license plate visible on the vehicle was registered at a Hockley address. During the investigation, officials say, Williams matched the suspect seen in the security footage and lived at the same home where the vehicle was registered. Authorities obtained an arrest warrant and arrested Williams at his home on Wednesday.
One detail in officials' account reaches back fourteen years: Williams, they say, is currently on parole until 2032 after being convicted of another bank robbery in 2012. Officials did not release details about that previous conviction, and they have not said how much money was taken on Friday. An arrest is a charge, not a verdict - what happens next in the case belongs to the courts, and this station will follow it there.
