Three charged in Baytown bank robbery

BAYTOWN, TX Federal charges were filed against Jose Matilde Quintanilla, 26, Paul Glenn Ballard, 51, and Carl Edward Malone, 49, for bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the commission of a violent crime.

According to the federal criminal complaint, the Community Bank in the 8000 block of Highway 146 was robbed by three men wearing dark clothing who entered the bank together. One of the men brandished a gun in his hand and ordered everyone to the ground. While the armed robber held two of the bank's employees to the ground at gunpoint, a second suspect restrained the employees with a zip tie or flex cuff. The suspects took money from teller drawers and placed it into a lunchbox type container and a clear plastic bag. The suspects left the bank in a getaway car, taking with them more than $64,000 in cash along with an undetermined amount of deposited checks.

After shutting down a portion of I-10, Baytown police saw a vehicle matching the description of the bank robbers' getaway vehicle stopped on the interstate. The officer approached the vehicle and ordered the occupants out of the car after seeing a large amount of money in a clear plastic bag. The occupants of the vehicle - Quintanilla, Ballard and Malone - were taken into custody.

A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery and seizure of a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol, a container filled with currency, numerous checks and various items of dark clothing.

The federal offense of bank robbery carries a maximum 20-year prison term and a $250,000 fine, while brandishing a firearm a prison term of not less than seven years, which must be served consecutive to term of the underlying violent crime.