COLLEGE STATION, TX — Two men were arrested for tampering with evidence, and more charges are possible if they are connected to a series of "bank jugging" incidents in College Station.
Bank jugging is when a suspect follows a person from the ATM with the intent to rob them of the money they withdrew.
College Station Police Department said that they received an email about a Ford hatchback that would follow bank customers from the Wells Fargo Bank located at 1801 Rock Prairie Rd.
The suspect in the hatchback would break into the vehicles and steal money that was withdrawn from the bank.
An officer was driving and saw the hatchback, and the driver was acting suspicious.
When the officer checked the vehicle, he immediately smelled marijuana. He also saw a window punch in the vehicle.
The suspect was hiding the window punch under his scrotum. The suspect said he was hiding the window punch because he "didn't want to get shot at."
The officer discovered a large amount of U.S. currency on the two suspects in the vehicle. One suspect has $1,739 in his pockets - most of which were crisp $100 bills.
They also found glass shards and gloves in the vehicle, and they discovered the vehicle was a rental.
After investigating, officers discovered that one of the suspects, Myron Jeffery, had been posting about"hitting up" banks on his social media since 2018.
The investigation is being turned over to the College Station Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, and additional charges are possible.
Myron Devon Jeffrey, a 26-year-old resident of Houston, Texas, was charged with Tampering With Evidence for attempting to conceal a criminal instrument and with Possession of a Criminal Instrument. Zachariah Mekehi Gardner, a 20-year-old resident of Fulshear, Texas, was charged with Tampering With Evidence for attempting to conceal marijuana and Possession of Marijuana.
Tips to protect yourself from a ‘bank jugging’:
• Always be aware of your surroundings
• Conceal money before leaving the bank. Never openly carry bank bags, envelopes, or coin boxes.
• Be aware of anyone following you from the area of a bank
• If you suspect you are being targeted, call 911 from your cell phone and keep the dispatcher informed of your location, the direction you are traveling, and drive toward the police station until marked police cars are able to locate you.
• Do not leave or try to hide your bank bag or bank envelope in your vehicle when you exit at your next destination, even if it’s your residence.
