Burbank police arrest three suspects in ‘bank-jugging’ case

Burbank police have arrested three men on suspicion of assaulting and robbing people after withdrawing money from their banks in what authorities call “bank jugging,” a term used to describe criminals who staking out potential victims in bank parking lots.

Investigators said the victims were robbed at least twice shortly after withdrawing money from a bank, Burbank police said in a news release. In “bank juggling,” criminals typically wait for their victims in bank parking lots, follow them to their next destination, and break into their cars, police said.

The first known robbery took place on September 15 when Burbank police responded to a report of a car break-in. The victim had just withdrawn money from a nearby bank, police said. The victim left the money in the car with the door unlocked. When the person came back, the car door was open and the money was gone.

The following day, police responded to a report of a robbery near Burbank Boulevard and Ontario Street. The victim was robbed while walking in an alley after withdrawing money from a nearby bank.

The victim told investigators that two men punched and kicked him until he fell to the ground, dropping the money he was holding, police said. The men took the money, got into a nearby vehicle and drove away.

Surveillance video from both incidents showed the crimes were likely committed by the same people driving the same vehicle. According to the police, the investigators were able to read the license plate from the video.

On Wednesday, officers from the Burbank Police Department observed three suspects break into a parked car in Garden Grove around 1:30 p.m., authorities said. The men were arrested and police identified two of the men as suspects in the previous crimes committed in Burbank.

Christopher Freeman, 24; Leanthony Thomas, 27; and Victor Gomez-Chapman, 31, were arrested and booked on suspicion of multiple crimes, police said. All three men are from Texas.

According to police, Freeman is being held on $20,000 bond, Thomas on $100,000 bond and Gomez-Chapman on bail.

Police are investigating whether the men are linked to other crimes in the Burbank area.

On Friday, Thomas was charged with three counts of second-degree robbery, one count of grand theft and one count of petty larceny, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. No other cases related to Freeman and Gomez-Chapman have been filed, prosecutors said.