BOWIE, Md. — A police chief in Prince George's County is sounding the alarm on what he calls a surge in armed robberies targeting people entering and leaving banks. Bowie Police Chief Dwayne Preston says he knows of nearly 50 recent armed robberies in the region. The trend is known as bank jugging.
"I find it disturbing that these offenses are being committed against our hardworking residents by individuals from neighboring communities," Preston said in a message posted on social media.
Five jugging cases have been reported in Bowie since June 28 and four of those incidents happened last week, according to Preston. He says the armed robbers have taken anywhere between hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Last week, a jugging case turned deadly when three suspects started a police chase in Anne Arundel County that ended in a fiery crash on Southern Avenue in Southeast D.C. Police say a 17-year-old and a man died after the vehicle they were riding in, crashed into a tree. Anne Arundel Police Chief Amal Awad claimed the three were involved in bank jugging.
Preston says investigators believe multiple jugging crews are targeting innocent victims in the region.
Surveillance video from the latest armed robbery in Bowie shows two people wearing masks and gloves pointing guns at a person outside the PNC Bank on Stonybrook Drive. In a picture still of the video, one of the armed robbers is seen pinning his victim against the car. Investigators say the SUV was used in other jugging cases in Bowie and that the vehicle was later recovered in D.C. The suspect wearing the grey and black hoodie is thought to be the same person involved in a Jun. 3 armed robbery.
Preston says the jugging crews are switching out vehicles and license plates when committing these crimes. He says no suspects have been identified but he is sure that they are not from Bowie.
"What I can say is that the vehicles that we know of that have been recovered, have all been recovered in the District of Columbia, but we have not identified any suspects yet. So I cannot determine if the suspects are also residents of the District of Columbia," he added.
Bowie Police are asking residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious cars, especially around banks.
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