Federal Charges Filed Against Three for the Armed Robbery of Community Bank in Baytown

June 9, 2010 - HOUSTON—Federal charges have been filed against three men for the June 7, 2010, robbery of the Community Bank in Baytown, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. Community Bank is located on the 8000 block of Highway 146 in Baytown, Chambers County, Texas.

A federal criminal complaint filed on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, charges Jose Matilde Quintanilla, 26, Paul Glenn Ballard, 51, and Carl Edward Malone, 49, of bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the commission of a violent crime—the bank robbery. Suspects were taken to the Baytown Police Department and booked for investigation until the FBI and Chamber’s County investigators arrived to question suspects. The investigation lead to the filing of the federal charges and all three men have been transferred to federal custody and are expected to make their initial appearance in federal court this afternoon at 3:00 p.m.

According to the allegations in the criminal complaint, at approximately noon on June 7, 2010, the Community Bank was robbed by three men wearing dark clothing who entered the bank together. One of the men, brandishing a gun in his hand, ordered everyone to the ground. While the armed robber held two of the bank’s employees to the ground at gunpoint, a second suspect restrained the employees with a “zip tie” or “flex cuff.” The suspects took the money from the teller drawers and placed some of it into a lunch box type container they brought with them into the bank. They also used a clear plastic bag from inside the bank in which they put the rest of the money. The suspects left the bank in a greenish-colored passenger car, taking with them approximately $64,160 in cash along with an undetermined amount of deposited checks.

The Chambers County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) and Baytown Police Department (BPD), who responded to the scene of the robbery, were notified by police dispatchers almost immediately following the bank robbery that they had received information the suspects were heading west on Interstate 10 through the city of Baytown. In response to the dispatcher information, BPD ordered officers to stop all west bound traffic on Interstate 10. Shortly thereafter, a BPD officer saw an older model, greenish-color, four-door Dodge Intrepid with very dark tinted windows matching the description of the bank robbers’ getaway vehicle stopped on the interstate. The officer approached the vehicle and ordered the occupants out of the car after seeing a large amount of money in a clear plastic bag. The occupants of the vehicle—Quintanilla, Ballard and Malone—were taken into custody. A further search of the occupants’ vehicle at the Baytown Police Station resulted in the discovery and seizure of a loaded 9 mm Hi Point semiautomatic pistol, a lunch box type container filled with currency, numerous checks and a number of items of dark clothing.

The federal offense of bank robbery carries a maximum 20-year term of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine upon conviction. Brandishing a firearm during a bank robbery carries a term of imprisonment of not less than seven years which must be served consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed on the underlying violent crime.

The investigation leading to the federal charges was conducted by the FBI, CCSO and BPD. Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Elmilady is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.