Authorities have arrested two Houston men after a multi-agency operation linked them to a series of violent jugging incidents across Southeast Texas.
“Jugging” is a method where criminals track people leaving banks or financial institutions and rob them afterward.
Tyre Hartley and Hakeem Thomas, both 30, now face aggravated robbery charges and remain in the Jefferson County Jail. Their arrests followed a coordinated effort involving the Beaumont Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), Port Arthur Police Department, and Chambers County deputies.
Magistrate Judge Marc Derouen set each man’s bond at $250,000. If released, they must wear GPS monitors and avoid all contact with the victim.
The string of crimes started around 10:40 a.m., when Beaumont’s RTCC got a report of a jugging case. The suspects had followed a victim from the Bank of America on Dowlen Road to Port Arthur, where they stole the victim’s bank bag.
Soon after, police believe the same suspects committed another robbery in Beaumont. This time, they targeted a victim leaving Wells Fargo on Phelan Boulevard, who was then followed to Rave Financial on Calder Avenue.
When the victim entered the bank, the suspects shattered the rear window of his parked vehicle, where a woman and her 5-month-old baby were waiting.
“One suspect climbed through the window, demanded the woman’s purse, and fled after she complied,” the Beaumont Police Department said.
The baby suffered minor injuries during the robbery.
