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Tuesday, February 25, 1997

Every other day, another DFW area bank is robbed, officials say

DALLAS (AP) - With a bank getting robbed nearly every other day since Jan. 1, last year's total of 52 heists in Dallas County could be surpassed before the end of April.

And of the 25 bank robberies already this year, only a handful have been solved, FBI officials say.

During the past 13 months, three people have been killed or seriously injured during Dallas County bank robberies, said FBI Special Agent John Condiff, who supervises the violent crime squad.

"The potential for violence is growing. If we continue to have the increase that we've had, we'll assign whatever (personnel) it takes to get it done," Condiff said.

Garland police officer Michael D. Moore, 32, was buried Friday in Mousie, Ky., six days after he was shot four times during a struggle with a Mesquite man in a Bank One lobby.

Authorities said Kenneth Mosley had a gun and a note demanding money when Moore tried to question him. Mosley was taken into custody outside the bank and charged with capital murder. He's in jail on $1 million bond.

During a service last week for Moore, several FBI agents quietly slipped out the back of the New Liberty Baptist Church and headed for their cars. Urgent pager messages notified them that two men wearing ski masks and pointing assault rifles had just held up a DeSoto bank.

Officials say they haven't been able to determine why bank robberies are in vogue. Theories range from increased drug and gambling addictions among potential robbers to easier access to branch banks.

Ken Hammock, manager of protective services for NationsBank, said he attended three safety training classes for employees last week.

"We've had an abnormally high number of training sessions in the last few weeks," Hammock said. "Not because of what happened in Garland, but because of the general increase in bank robberies." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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