Two South Florida men are facing charges after police said they went on a "bank jugging" spree, following and then burglarizing or robbing bank customers after they withdrew cash.
Kerric Tennel Harris, 23, and Darris D. McInnis, 28, were arrested Oct. 23 on charges including burglary, robbery, battery and grand theft, police reports said.
Miami-Dade Police said the pair have targeted multiple victims over the past several months. The suspects would stake out banks, look for people who had made cash withdrawals then follow them and take the cash.
In most instances the suspects would follow customers to a grocery or hardware store, break into their vehicle and steal the cash, but in at least one instance they allegedly followed a man into his neighborhood, smashed his window while he was in the car and forcibly took $6,000 in cash, police said.
Police said the pair staked out a customer at a bank near Miami Executive Airport, then broke into his car at a nearby Publix. They also followed a customer from a bank in Homestead, then stole cash out of the victim's car at a nearby grocery store, police said. One man who left a bank near the Falls had his car broken into and cash stolen at a nearby Home Depot.
Officials are warning customers to stay vigilant and aware of their surroundings.
"It's a resurrection of an old school crime that was done a while back," Det. Angel Rodriguez said. "When you go into the bank and you handle your transaction, please don't come out of the bank counting your money, don't come out of the bank with the famous envelope in your hand that shows where the money is at, don't be fumbling trying to put it in your purse or in your pocket or in anything."
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Harris and McInnis were arrested in Homestead, where investigators said they've seen about a dozen "bank jugging" cases since the beginning of the year. Both were booked into jail, and attorney information wasn't available.
