Say What Now? Dad Loses Job & Starts Robbing Banks With His Children
November 19, 2012 4:32 PM PST
The family that steals together, eats meals together. In prison, that is.
Police in Texas arrested a family suspected of pulling off several bank robberies while disguised as blue-collar workers in two states.
Ronald Catt, 50, his 20-year-old son Hayden and 18-year-old daughter Abby were busted on Nov. 9 after deputies tied them to the Oct. 1 armed stickup of a credit union in Katy. Last week, the Fort Bend County Sheriff's office linked the family to another Texas heist and said they might be behind five bank robberies in their homestate of Oregon.
The dad, who goes by his middle name Scott, and Hayden donned reflective orange safety vests when the Fort Bend County Sheriff's office claims they robbed the 1st Community Credit Union. Surveillance footage shows a man believed to be Scott wearing a hat, dark sunglasses and a painter's mask. His younger accomplice sports a fake moustache. Both carried guns and they emptied cash from the vault. Abby allegedly drove the getaway car.
Deputies focused on the thieves' disguises to piece together the crime. The vests were emblazoned with an "X" on the back and investigators found them for sale in a nearby Home Depot. A search through security footage in the store turned up images of Hayden and Abby buying the bright workers' vests. The digging unearthed images of Scott buying a painter's mask on another occasion.
The father and son are also accused of an August bank robbery in neighboring Harris County, an area that covers Houston. The suspects wore painter's outfits and masks.
The Catts might be responsible for five holdups in Portland, although an FBI official in Oregon wouldn't confirm if they suspect the family, according to KATU.
Scott relocated his family to Texas over the summer. A family friend there told ABC News said Scott was a devoted, single father to his children. Hayden and Abby were honor students at their McMinnville high school and members of the swim team.
The Yamhill Valley New-Register found that Scott applied for a marriage license in 1998 and got divorced two years later following hiswife's conviction for domestic assault. The newspaper also reported that Scoot was arrested for allegedly driving without a valid license in early 2011.
Other neighbors and acquaintances told KATU that Scott had recently lost two jobs, and a sign on the front door of their previous home in McMinnville revealed it was turned over to a mortgage company in June.
Scott and Hayden are held in the county jail on $140,000 bond while Abby's bond was set at $100,000.
via Huffington Post
Tags:Say What Now