PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is offering tips on avoiding becoming a victim of bank jugging amid the recent arrests of four people accused of the crime.
Bank jugging, according to PBSO, is when "criminals watch customers entering and leaving a bank, drive-thru or ATM. They look for customers carrying bank bags or envelopes that look to have a large amount of cash in it. The criminals will follow the customers to their next step, and once an opportunity exist, they burglarize the customer's car, stealing the withdrawn money and valuables."
PBSO offers the following tips:
• Be aware of your surroundings
• Avoid distractions at the ATM
• Conceal your cash and valuables
• Don't openly carry bank deposit bags
• Don’t leave money in your car
• If you feel like you being followed, call 9-1-1
Four suspects have been arrested in bank jugging and are accomplices, spokeswoman Teri Barbera told WPTV.
Sarah Longoria, 22, of Lantana, was arrested Thursday by PBSO and faces charges of robbery with a firearm and robbery of a firearm. She had been arrested on May 5 by West Palm Beach police in burglary of a conveyance and grand theft,
Kristopher Carrington, 21, of Riviera Beach was arrested on May 4 in possession of a weapon, robbery with a firearm.
In the arrest report for Carrington, the PBSO detective wrote: "There have been numerous similarly related burglaries and robberies throughout Palm Beach County."
They have been linked to four robberies between February and April:
• $8,800 from a Bank of America at 1974 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., near West Palm Beach on Feb. 11
• $32,000 from the same Bank of America on Feb. 24.
• $3,200 from Bank of America at 25235 PGA Blvd., West Palm Beach on April 19.
• Deposit at Bank of America at 105 N. Congress in Boynton Beach on April 25
In a separate incident, the sheriff's office said two women burglarized a vehicle believed to have a large amount of cash from either a bank or check cashing store on May 19.
The women, identified as Paola Pulido Diaz and Julier Valencia Pulido, were arrested on burglary charges and booked into the main Palm Beach County Jail.