On 05-22-2010 a Bank Robbery occurred in Sugarland Texas at the Bank of America. The Bank Robber fled the scene and patrol units from Sugarland Police Dept. and the Ft. Bend County Sheriffs Office engaged in a pursuit with the suspect vehicle. The suspect opened fire on the officers as the pursuit continued for approximately 20 minutes. A Ft. Bend county deputy was shot twice by the suspect who was using an automatic rifle. The Deputy suffered wounds to his wrist and head but did survive. The suspect vehicle wrecked out and one of the suspects was shot and killed by a Ft. Bend County Deputy Sheriff.
The slain suspect was identified as Mouafak Kazzaz, 26, of Katy Texas. Kazzaz has been identified as the “Reckless Robber” who has terrorized banks throughout Texas since October 2008 including many in the Houston area and 5 here in Montgomery County. Kazzaz was dubbed the “Reckless Robber” for the aggressive manner that he used to rob the banks with a pistol in hand and finger on the trigger and in many cases pointed the pistol directly at the teller’s heads. Kazzaz was also known to use numerous disguises including mustaches and hair pieces.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Major Crime Unit has worked 15 Bank Robberies since January of 2009 and with the death and identification of Kazzaz, the Sheriff’s Office has solved 13 of the 15 Robberies. All of the identified suspects in these robberies have been arrested, indicted and has either pled guilty to the charges or are awaiting trial. There are still 2 open investigations into bank robberies where no suspect has been identified.
01-16-2009 Amegy Bank\ Sawdust Rd. Krogers \Daniel Howard Conviction 7 years TDC
02-01-2009 Woodforest Bank\ 242 at Walmart\ Aaron Sykes Convicted Theft
02-11-2009 Wachovia 2978@Woodlands Pkwy\Charles Estep and John Scott convicted of Robbery. Estep sentenced to 14 years TDC and Scott sentenced to 9 years TDC
02-20-2009 Chase Bank\ Woodlands Pkwy @ Kuykendahl\Estep and Scott (See Above)
03-05-2009 Wells Fargo in Panther Creek\Mouafak Kazzaz – Death of Defendant
03-11-2009 Chase Bank\Panther Creek \Open Case -Working
03-13-2009 Woodforest Bank\ Grogans Mill\Estep and Scott (See Above 2-11-09)
05-18-2009 Compass Bank\ Alden Bridge\Mouafak Kazzaz-Death of Defendant
07-10-2009 Amegy Bank \ Sterling Ridge\Mouafak Kazzaz-Death of Defendant
07-22-2009 Chase Bank\ Panther Creek\Christopher Martinez-Passed by Grand Jury awaiting evidence return and will be presented at later date.
07-31-2009 Wells Fargo \ 2978 @ Woodlands Pkwy\Mouafak Kazzaz-Death of Defendant
09-28-2009 Regions Bank\ F.M. 249@ Hardin Store Rd\William Lee Terrell and Eugenio Aaron Carola\ taken into Federal custody by F.B.I. for multiple robberies
11-10-2009 Woodforest Bank\ FM 2978 (Walmart)\Open Case-Working
11-30-2009 Amegy Bank\FM 2978@ FM 1488\John Travers-Indicted awaiting trial
03-29-2010 Comerica Bank\Woodlands Prkwy@ Kuykendahl\Mouafak Kazzaz – Death of Defendant
These types of cases take months of detailed work by these Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators on top of their ever growing case load.
According to F.B.I. statistics, there were 5,943 Bank Robberies in the United States last year with a clearance rate of around 50 percent. The Major Crimes Unit for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has solved 86 percent of the listed Bank Robberies since their inception in 2008.
Lieutenant Bill Bucks
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Major Crimes Unit
