Trending crime called ‘jugging’ now a felony offense in Texas
Jugging surveillance
AUSTIN - Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new law on Friday defining a new criminal offense for Texas: The violent crime called "jugging" that’s seen a spread across the states in recent months.
What Is Jugging?
Jugging is defined as the act of following a victim from a commercial business or financial institution, commonly a bank or ATM, for the purpose of robbing them at a secondary location.
House Bill 1902, newly signed into law by Abbott, recognizes the act as a state-jail felony, with the possibility of being enhanced to a third or even first-degree felony if other penal code standards are met.
Jugging has now been added to Texas’ robbery offenses, and carries penalties of 180 days in jail and up to $10,000 in fines for a state-jail felony, to life in prison for a first-degree felony.
Jugging Grows Popular Across Nation
Big picture view:
The crime has seen a widespread rise in recent months, with police warning the public of the trend and saying it spread from Texas all the way to South Carolina.
April footage from South Carolina showed a man struggling in the front seat of a truck, before jumping out and fleeing in an SUV. Police believe the suspect had scoped out the victim and followed them to the location of the robbery.
Three Texas men were arrested at the beginning of the month in another jugging incident in Illinois.
Police said the men had watched a victim withdraw cash from an Elmhurst, Illinois, bank, then head straight to a nearby store, where he left the money in his locked car while he went inside to shop. While he was away, the men allegedly broke into the car and made off with the money.
The men were arrested later that day while reportedly involved in another crime.
Jugging in North Texas
Local perspective:
In North Texas, a gym owner in Mesquite was possibly the victim of a jugging incident in Pleasant Grove.
Police search for jugging suspect in Mesquite robbery
A Mesquite small business owner says he went to the bank, then went to run another errand, when a man stole the cash out of his vehicle.
The man had withdrawn $5,000 in cash from a bank, before driving to a nearby U-Haul rental business and leaving the money in his car. While he was inside, his daughter, who he had also left in the vehicle, called him to say a man was breaking into the car.
Dallas police see an uptick in 'jugging' robberies
Dallas police say they are seeing an increase in what is known as jugging, when criminals wait for people to come outside a bank with money and then take that money from them.
The gym owner believes he was scoped out at the bank and followed to the rental center. He was even aware that something like jugging was a possibility; he was intentionally cautious with the transaction, choosing to get the cash from a human teller rather than an outdoor ATM.
Arlington police release video of recent 'jugging' theft
Arlington police are urging people to be careful at banks and ATMs after a recent break-in that was caught on video.
What's next:
House Bill 1902 will take effect as law on Sept. 1.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Texas Legislature Online and previous FOX 4 reporting.