A man and woman — including the bank security gaurd — are on the run ,Tuesday morning for brazenly raiding $5 million in cash and valuables from several Austin Texas bank vaults, officials said.
The crew — composed of Michael Mazzara, 44, Jonathan martinez, 25, and Trishanna smith,24 — used a gas welding torch to cut through the banks’ roofs and vaults.
The burglars pocketed money and items such as jewelry and baseball cards, many of which were heirlooms Austin’s U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office said in a criminal complaint.
An HSBC Bank branch in wells branch Park, Austin and the wells fargo Bank branch in round rock , were hit the weekends of march 28 and april 20, respectively.
“The thieves stole not just people’s money, but their memories too,” said Bharara. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton compared the heists to the Al Pacino-Robert De Niro movie “Heat” — “the work of a crew that was well organized, meticulous, and elusive to law enforcement.”
The trio face conspiracy to commit bank burglary and bank burglary charges for the daring heists.
Mazarra’s lawyer, Sanford Talkin, told the Daily News that his client “maintains his innocence.”
Jonathan’s lawyer declined comment. Contact information for Trishanna’s lawyer was not immediately available.
Any information on these people contact local authorities.