Alleged Bank Robber Who was Apprehended by a Nearby Resident as He Fled the Scene Ordered Detained

FORT WORTH, TX—Leslie Nashon Slaton, 33, who has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with robbing the Commercial Bank of Texas last week in Bedford, Texas, appeared in federal court in Fort Worth today and was ordered detained by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the complaint filed in the case, on the afternoon of March 28, 2013, a man, later identified as Slaton, entered the Commercial Bank of Texas located at 1716 Forest Ridge Drive in Bedford, wearing a dark-colored hoodie, a bandanna over his face, gloves, and brandishing a handgun. He ordered customers and several employees to the center of the lobby. He approached one teller and ordered her to give him all the money in her drawer, which she did. He then demanded money from a second teller. When that teller advised that she had no money, Slaton fled the bank and ran into an adjacent neighborhood where he had parked his getaway car.

A neighbor saw Slaton running from the bank and deduced that he had robbed the bank. As Slaton drove away, that neighbor ran after the car to obtain the license number. At the next intersection, however, Slaton ran a stop sign and collided with another vehicle. The neighbor then ran up to the wreck, pulled Slaton from the vehicle, and held him until police arrived. An officer with the Euless Police Department, who drove by the scene, stopped and handcuffed Slaton. Officers with the Beford Police Department then arrived and took Slaton into custody. The money stolen from the bank, as well as his disguise and a pellet gun that resembled a real firearm, were recovered from Slaton’s vehicle.

A federal criminal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. If convicted of the offense of bank robbery, however, Slaton faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Bedford Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Wolfe is in charge of the prosecution.