Local News

'Scarecrow Bandit' Suspects To Remain In Custody

DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ― The six men and one woman accused of being the 'Scarecrow Bandits' were back in a Dallas courthouse on Friday afternoon. They attended detention hearings to determine whether the seven suspects should be held in custody.

They will be.

The suspects are accused of planning to rob a Regions Bank in Garland on Monday morning. They are also believed to be responsible for 20 other bank robberies across North Texas spanning nearly a year.

On Friday morning, a federal judge ordered the detention of Corey Duffey, Tony Hewitt and Jarvis Ross while they await trial. Suspect Darobie Stenline waived his right to a detention hearing. The remaining three suspects were ordered to be detained on Friday afternoon.

Federal prosecutor Gary Tromblay called Stacy Tooke to the stand on Friday. Tooke is a Garland Police Department detective assigned to an FBI bank robbery task force and the lead agent on the 'Scarecrow Bandit' investigation.

During his testimony, Tooke outlined wiretaps on cell phones and surveillance that led to the suspects.

According to the investigator, FBI agents listened to phone conversations between Duffey and Hewitt and observed other suspects at bank locations dating back to May 21.

During his testimony, Tooke also said that the suspects had called off robbery attempts in Fort Worth and Richardson last month because they couldn't access a stolen car or faced too many police at a bank.

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