How a gold Cadillac, limp and prosthetic leg identified man in attempted bank robbery

A gold Cadillac, an “identifiable limp” and a prosthetic leg — in addition to DNA and phone data — all helped in identifying the suspect of an attempted bank robbery in Texas, authorities say.

A federal jury found James Earl Green Jr., now 72, guilty in the 2019 Abilene attempted bank robbery on April 12, according to Northern District of Texas court records. The conviction came after a two-day trial and two hours of jury deliberation.

In surveillance video shared to Twitter, officials say Green is the man seen fighting with the bank teller and a second employee at about 7:40 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2019. He is accused of holding the teller hostage for about 20 minutes.

“During the melee, Mr. Green struck the first employee on the head with his handgun,” officials said in an April 13 news release. “He then fled on foot without obtaining any money, leaving his two duffel bags behind.”

As he held the teller inside the bank, authorities say “surveillance video caught (Green) on camera pacing back and forth with an identifiable limp.”

That limp was one of several clues that ousted the man, according to court records.

Green’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on April 13

After the attempted robbery, police requested the public’s help in identifying the man seen in the video. An anonymous tip sent to the Abilene Police Department said a gold Cadillac was parked across from the bank and left after the failed robbery. Surveillance video confirmed the gold Cadillac sedan was in the area, records say, and it was missing its front right hub cap cover.

A city employee went through a list of over 11,000 gold Cadillacs to find a matching car that belonged to Green, according to the news release.

“After learning that Mr. Green lived in El Paso, officers reached out to an individual there that knew him, who reviewed the bank surveillance video and noted that the robber in the video walked in a similar manner to Mr. Green, who wore a prosthetic leg,” officials said. “She also shared a photo of Mr. Green’s Cadillac, which was gold and missing its front right hub cap cover.”

That person was his parole officer, according to court records. She said he also had recently “fell on hard financial times and had $75,000 stolen from him by a relative.”

As these events took place, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime Lab ran a DNA profile from the duffel bag through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), according to the news release. The system found a match to Green.

Green’s cell phone data also proved he traveled from El Paso to Abilene days before the robbery attempt, officials said, and he went back to El Paso immediately after.

When Green was interviewed by the FBI in November 2019, authorities say “he could not recall the last time or if he was ever in Abilene, Texas.” He denied his involvement in the attempt, but also said he is the only person with access to his cell phone and gold Cadillac, according to officials.

With this conviction, Green faces up to 20 years in federal prison, according to the news release. His sentencing date is scheduled for July 21.

This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 10:59 AM with the headline "How a gold Cadillac, limp and prosthetic leg identified man in attempted bank robbery."