Bank teller accused of triggering violent robbery in northwest Harris County
Julian Gill, Houston Chronicle
Updated 4:10 pm CDT, Thursday, August 23, 2018
Photo: Harris County Constable Precinct 4
Shelby Taylor Wyse has been arrested in connection with a violent robbery last week in the 23200 block of U.S. 290.
A bank teller has been accused of
signaling multiple suspects to rob a woman who had withdrawn $75,000 in cash from Wallis State Bank last Friday, triggering a violent beating that left the woman hospitalized with a broken shoulder, according to police.
The teller, Shelby Taylor Wyse, 25, was working last Friday morning at the Wallis State Bank on FM1960 when the victim made the transaction near Wyse's work station, police said. Authorities believe she sent a "go signal" to the suspects, one of whom was her boyfriend.
Wyse was booked into Harris County Jail on Wednesday on a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Her bail has been set at $75,000.
Shelby Taylor Wyse was arrested this week in connection with a violent robbery in northwest Harris County. Police said she worked at the bank where the victim withdrew $75,000 in cash, and investigators believe she may have alerted the suspects to the transaction.
Two other suspects have been identified as Travonn Johnson and Davis Mitchell, who are in custody without bond. At Wyse's probably cause hearing Wednesday, prosecutors said Wyse was in a dating relationship with Johnson, who drove a vehicle leased in her name during the robbery.
Johnson has also been accused of attacking Wyse on at least two previous occasions, according to court records.
During the robbery investigation, police viewed video surveillance footage from the bank that appeared to show Wyse watching the victim during the transaction, prosecutors said during Wednesday's hearing.
The video then showed Wyse sending a text message, which police presume to be a signal to the other suspects. Harris County Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman said investigators are still working to obtain a search warrant for the Wyse's phone to read the message.
After the $75,000 transaction, police said Johnson and Mitchell followed the victim in separate cars around 9:30 a.m. The woman eventually pulled into a Valero convenience store in the 23200 block of Northwest Freeway in Jersey Village. She and her husband work at a check cashing business inside the store on Fridays, Herman said.
Video surveillance footage shows the woman walking into the store when a suspect — whom police identified as Mitchell — attacked the woman and yanked at her purse.
While the woman resisted, her husband came to her defense and fought Mitchell. That's when a black Chrysler 300 pulled up to the location and a man — now believed to be Johnson — got out.
The video appears to show Johnson stomping and beating the couple. At one point, he appears to get back in the car and back over the man and woman.
The woman never let go of her purse but sustained a broken shoulder, Herman said. The husband was treated on the scene for "cuts and bruises," he said.
Both Johnson and Mitchell are facing charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Herman added that his office is still looking for more people involved in the crime, but he did not want to comment Thursday on the number of additional suspects.
During the investigation, police tracked down Wyse after they learned that she leased the Chrysler 300 used in the robbery at a local Budget Rent a Car.
When confronted about the car, Wyse said the vehicle was stolen the morning of the robbery, but she never filed a report with police, prosecutors said.
The woman's connection to Johnson can be traced back to at least May 2017, when the Harris County Pct. 7 Constable's Office charged Johnson with assaulting Wyse once on May 1 and again on May 16, court records show.
Johnson allegedly pushed her in a pool and "gouged her right eye" with his finger on May 1. On May 16, he was accused of hitting her with his hand and breaking her nails.
Wade Bainum, a Harris County Public Defender, said during Wyse's hearing Wednesday that she's been living in Houston for six years and has an 8-year-old child. He said she did not appear to have any previous criminal history.
Officials at the Wallis State Bank declined to comment on the matter.
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