Armed Bank Robber Pleads Guilty
Defendant Admits Robbing FirstBank Southwest in March

AMARILLO, TX—Joshua Steven Urban, 24, of Amarillo, pleaded guilty this morning before U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to one count of bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Urban admitted committing the March 2, 2010, armed robbery of First Bank Southwest, located at 5701 SW 34th Street in Amarillo. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Robinson on July 19, 2010.

According to documents filed, on March 2, 2010, Urban entered the First Bank Southwest, wearing a black ski mask with eye holes. He demanded cash, advised it was not a joke and handed the teller a black shaving kit bag. He also pointed a handgun at the teller while making his demands. Tellers put cash in the bag he provided and he left the bank. A customer in the bank got in his vehicle and followed the defendant, and based on a description of Urban’s vehicle provided by the customer, police located his vehicle at apartments located on SW 45th Street in Amarillo.

Police found Urban at his apartment and handcuffed him. Urban agreed to a search of his apartment, and during the search, items consistent with those used in the robbery were found, including the black ski mask, the shaving kit bag and a handgun. Cash straps were found in the sewer connected to the toilet in his apartment, and during a later search of the apartment, the cash taken in the robbery was found in a hold in the sheet rock behind a posted in the living room of his apartment.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Amarillo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Drake is in charge of the prosecution.