Published: September 01, 2009 10:43 pm      

Connection emerging in area bank robberies

Walker County investigators are reviewing evidence in three 2009 bank robberies in order to determine a possible connection to an Aug. 24 bank robbery in Anderson.

Huntsville police are working in conjunction with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office and the Willis Police Department to compare notes on the April robbery of a Huntsville credit union and the June robberies of banks in New Waverly and Willis. All three were committed under similar circumstances with similar suspect descriptions, and all three bear similarities to the Anderson robbery.

Just before 3 p.m. on Aug. 24 a black male entered the First National Bank in Anderson, produced a pistol and demanded money from three tellers. The tellers complied and the man quickly left with the cash he obtained in a garbage bag.

Later that day Huntsville police detained 29-year-old Huntsville resident Billy Wyatt after receiving a vehicle description that closely matched his vehicle. Wyatt was arrested after a large amount of cash in his pockets matched cash taken from the Anderson bank. He was later transported to the Grimes County Jail and his bond was set at $100,000.

The following day a second suspect, 37-year-old Christopher Tolbert, was arrested in Grimes County after an investigation involving Grimes County authorities and several Texas Rangers. Witnesses would later identify him as the man who entered the bank and demanded money.

Tolbert was also transported to the Grimes County Jail and his bond was set at $200,000.

As Tolbert and Wyatt await trial, both still refusing to admit their involvement in any of the four bank robberies, Walker County authorities are working to find what, if any, link exists between Anderson and the other three robberies.

According to Sgt. Jim Barnes of the HPD Criminal Investigations Division, the first piece of evidence that set Huntsville investigators on the trail was the vehicle. Wyatt was arrested after being spotted driving a white Oldsmobile sedan that was spotted in Anderson on Aug. 24. A car matching that description was also spotted near Walker County Federal Credit Union around the time of its robbery on April 13.

Barnes said video footage of the other bank robberies also bears similarities to the Anderson suspects.

In the coming days and weeks, Barnes said investigators will continue to compare video footage and witness statements, and possibly attempt to enhance the surveillance videos, in order to determine if Wyatt and Tolbert had any involvement in the previous robberies.

“We’re coordinating with other agencies and with our current evidence to put the pieces together,” Barnes said. “We’re going to do what we’ve got to do in order to get them.”