Bill Collector Gets Fired, Switches To Bank Robbery

Hurst, TX police, acting on an informant's tip, have arrested James Patrick Fout, for bank robbery.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Fout had lost his job 10 days before the robbery for bad attendance at a Hurst collection agency.

Bank employees told police that a man walked into the bank and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun. The robber then ordered the tellers to get bundles of $100 and $50 bills, take the straps off and put them through a counter. The robber placed the bills inside a pipe before fleeing out a back door.

A man sitting on the bench in front of the building told police that he recognized the robber as someone who worked for a collection agency inside the building. Police discovered that Fout, who matched the robber's description, had been fired from that company a week earlier.

Tarrant County court records show that Fout has several arrests on suspicion of theft, theft by check, evading arrest and possession of drugs. Court records do not show why public records of several arrests on suspicion of theft, theft by check, evading arrest and possession of drugs would not disqualify someone from working at a collection agency with access to private information such as social security numbers and consumer credit reports.