APD: 2 suspects arrested, accused of robbing $8K in jugging incident

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Two men were arrested after they were accused of felony theft in connection with a jugging incident in north Austin Friday, the Austin Police Department said in a news release.

Those suspects were identified as 25-year-old Brandon Lee Wright and 19-year-old Marquise Keyon Collins, according to police. They were both arrested and charged with felony theft. Online court records were not updated with attorney information. We will update this once that changes.

APD officers in the area were conducting an operations "targeting jugging style crime suspects," the release said. Over the last few months, officers and detectives gathered information by the crime analysis unit, which determined "locations frequently targeted by jugging suspects over the last few months."

Jugging was explained by police as a form of robbery. This happens when a suspect follows a victim from a bank, ATM or check-cashing store to their next location. The suspect then either threatens or assaults the victim and then demands or takes the money.

Around 11 a.m., while officers were in the parking lot of a bank for around 10 minutes, they saw a suspect vehicle, a Toyota pickup truck, with two suspects in it, the release said.

When the suspect vehicle left the bank, they followed "a potential victim vehicle," according to police. Both the suspect and victim's vehicle pulled into the parking lot of 11300 North Lamar Boulevard "several minutes later."

When the victim got out of their vehicle, they "went to the other side of the parking lot to assist a co-worker," and a suspect got out of the Toyota. That suspect then went into the victim's vehicle, grabbed an envelope that "was in plain view" and then got back into the Toyota. This is when police conducted a traffic stop, the release said.

"The suspects were in possession of an envelope containing $8,000 in cash, along with the victim’s personal bank card and ID card," APD said.

Police said the money was returned to the victim. The agency said this is a reminder for those in the community to be "very aware when withdrawing and traveling with large amounts of cash, especially during the holidays."

"It is recommended that citizens avoid leaving large amounts of cash in their unattended vehicle, or try to avoid carrying large amounts of cash altogether," APD said.

The agency also said this is a "warning to suspects coming into Austin with the intentions of committing jugging style crimes."

"APD will not tolerate people taking advantage of our citizens, especially during the holidays, and anyone suspected of these crimes will be arrested and referred for prosecution," police said.