Jimmy James Mamoth, Attempted Bank Robbery, Texas 2019

BEAUMONT, Texas – A brazen attempt to rob a bank in Hull, Texas was foiled when a vigilant bank customer intervened, sending the would-be thief running for cover.

A grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas has indicted Jimmy James Mamoth, Jr., a 58-year-old resident of Kemah, Texas, for attempted bank robbery. Mamoth was charged with attempted bank robbery on October 2, 2019, according to U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown.

According to prosecutors, Mamoth was seen walking outside the Texas First Bank located on FM 834 in Hull, Texas on September 27, 2019. He was dressed in a dark hooded jacket with a Halloween-style mask on his face, wearing gloves and carrying a small duffle bag. As Mamoth approached the bank’s entrance, a bank customer in a vehicle saw him pulling the mask over his face and began honking the horn, startling Mamoth and causing him to run past the bank entrance and into the nearby woods.

The customer followed Mamoth and reported the incident to police, who responded and located Mamoth with the reported hooded jacket, gloves, mask, duffle bag, and an airsoft style plastic replica gun meant to resemble a Beretta 9mm pistol.

“What a great job this citizen did to prevent a bank robbery,” said U.S. Attorney Joe Brown. “He didn’t just look the other way, he acted. And even though it may have seemed like a small act, it could have saved lives. He is a hero in my book.”

Mamoth faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kennedy Gates.

A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/pr/kemah-man-indicted-liberty-county-attempted-bank-robbery