Tarrant County Man Guilty in East Texas Armed Bank Robberies

PLANO, Texas – A 58-year-old Fort Worth, Texas man has been found guilty of federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.

                Wayne Alan Watson was found guilty of three counts of armed bank robbery today by a jury following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

                According to information presented in court, Watson robbed three credit unions in the Eastern District of Texas: the City Credit Union located in Gainesville, Texas, on Oct. 16, 2017; the Altra Federal Credit Union located in Tyler, Texas, on Dec. 1, 2017; and the Texoma Educators Federal Credit Union in Denison, Texas, on Dec. 19, 2017.  In each of the robberies, Watson displayed a gun and by force, violence, and intimidation robbed employees of the credit unions of currency.  Additional robberies linked to Watson in Austin, Texas, and Wichita Falls, Texas, which occurred in January of 2018, led to his identification as the serial robber.  A search warrant was executed at Watson’s residence in Fort Worth on Feb. 13, 2018, where the vehicle used in two of the robberies, a 2015 red Volkswagen Jetta, was located, in addition to several articles of clothing Watson wore in each of the robberies.  Watson was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 14, 2018 and charged in the Eastern District of Texas with federal violations.

                Under federal statutes, Watson faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each charge at sentencing.  The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.  A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

                This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Department of Public Safety-Texas Rangers Division, Gainesville Police Department, Tyler Police Department, Denison Police Department, Austin Police Department, and the Wichita Falls Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lesley Davis Brooks and Maureen Smith.