Two Arrested in Tomball During Proactive Bank Jugging Operation

TOMBALL, Texas – Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested two people Thursday during a coordinated operation targeting bank jugging activity in the Tomball area.

Authorities said the operation was conducted alongside the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.

Investigators described bank jugging as a criminal tactic in which suspects monitor customers leaving financial institutions, follow them to another location, and then break into vehicles to steal recently withdrawn cash.

According to deputies, undercover officers observed a suspicious vehicle loitering near a financial institution in the 1400 block of Graham Road in Tomball.

Law enforcement said the suspects followed a bank customer from the business to another parking lot, where they attempted twice to break into the victim’s vehicle.

After failing to gain access to the vehicle, authorities said the suspects returned to the original financial institution.

Deputies then stopped the vehicle and arrested both suspects without incident.

The suspects were identified as 37-year-old Jarvus Polk and 38-year-old Erica Smith.

Both were transported to the Harris County Jail and charged with bank jugging, a state jail felony.

Authorities said no property was stolen during the incident because of the coordinated operation and rapid intervention by law enforcement.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office urged residents to remain aware of their surroundings while conducting financial transactions and advised against leaving large amounts of cash unattended inside vehicles.