Dallas Firefighter Charged with Bank Robbery
After Taking the Money, He Leaves a $20 Tip for the Teller

DALLAS—Jesus Ventura, age 37, of Irving, Texas, has been charged in a federal criminal complaint filed today with robbing a Chase Bank in Dallas this week, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Ventura will make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeff Kaplan this afternoon at 1:00 p.m.; the government will ask the court to detain Ventura.

According to the complaint filed in the case, late in the afternoon on April 10, 2012, Ventura entered the Chase Bank branch located at 1881 Sylvan Avenue in Dallas and asked an employee if he could use the restroom. The employee provided Ventura with the door code and informed him that the restroom was located in the office building’s lobby. Ventura left the bank lobby but soon returned and was greeted by a teller offering her assistance. Ventura replied in a low-toned voice, “I am sorry to do this to you, I really am. Give me all the money.”

The teller, who had only been employed at the bank for two weeks, stared at the robber, and he repeated several more times for her to give him the money. She stood at the counter, and Ventura’s voice became more aggressive when he said, “Give me all the money” and raised his black backpack as he continued demanding money. The teller feared that he had a weapon in the backpack. She gave Ventura the money and he took a $20 bill from the money and slid it underneath the glass to the teller and stated, “Here is a tip for you.”

Officers with the Dallas Police Department (DPD) arrested Ventura a short time after the robbery at a nearby business that he attempted to rob. When Ventura was arrested, officers recovered no weapon, but recovered the black backpack and the money stolen from Chase Bank.

A federal 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 presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The government has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury. The maximum statutory sentence for one count of bank robbery, as presently charged, is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the DPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Robinson is in charge of the prosecution.