A Rash Of Robberies In Amarillo Has Residents On High Alert

Lately, we've heard about a certain crime being committed in Amarillo a little more than usual. I'm not sure if there's something in the air or what, but hopefully this isn't the way 2024 is going to go down.

It appears that the most popular crime in Amarillo so far this year is robberies or burglaries. There has seemingly been a rash of them lately, and there's one particular case that is a little more intense than the others.

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We start in downtown Amarillo where police are on the hunt for a man who is suspected of multiple burglaries over the course of the last month. In some of these cases, he has forced entry into wherever he is hitting, but he has also found unlocked doors in some of the other places.

The suspect never seems to cover his face, so figuring out who he is shouldn't be TOO hard, but finding him could be a completely different story. No word on exactly how many places he's hit, but multiple isn't the word you want to hear.

The next one I heard about was actually over at the CEFCO on I-35 and Bell St. exit. I go in there nearly every morning to pick up some coffee, and one of the ladies who work there told me they got hit about a week ago or so. Someone rolled in all masked up carrying a weapon that resembled an AR-15 and demanded money.

Everyone in the convenience store was ok, but to our knowledge, the suspect has not been caught as of yet.

Then comes the curious case of an Amarillo woman who just pleaded guilty to bank robbery. Her name is Whitney Rose Garcia, and she really did her homework casing out the Bank of America on Bell St...which mind you is literally across the street from our radio stations.

She walked into the bank wearing a wig and a mask, found a particular teller and went right up to her. She demanded $8,000 from a "particular account". She cautioned the teller not to alert police as she knew everything about her.

That's when she slid the teller a note and at the bottom was the names of the teller's husband and son. That's enough to freeze you and make them do whatever the robber wants. Turns out, Garcia had stalked this teller on social media to gain personal info and intimidate her during the robbery.

A disturbing trend for sure, so let's hope this doesn't become some kind of new normal in Amarillo.