CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy) – It’s been weeks since someone burglarized safe deposit boxes at the Wells Fargo bank on Third Street in the City of Katy, and there is no information being provided to the public or bank customers about the case from the police or the bank. For weeks, customers have been calling Covering Katy to complain that such an unusual crime could be pulled off and no one is providing them with information on the investigation.
“I want to know what happened and what’s being done to prevent this from happening again,” said a customer who asked not to be identified. The customer was not victimized by the burglar but is concerned that if nothing is done she could be the next victim. She has a safe deposit box at the Wells Fargo Bank that was burglarized.
The Katy Police Department has confirmed that officers are investigating the situation, but weeks later they still won’t provide any information on whether there has been an arrest. While banks are typically filled with cameras, there has been no video shared with the media to find the person responsible nor will anyone talk about whether the responsible person was captured on video during the crime.
A customer of a Katy Wells Fargo bank told Covering Katy News that his safe deposit box was burglarized, and he claims it happened to four other clients of the bank as well. A safe deposit box, sometimes known as a safety deposit box, is a secured metal container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Burglary of a safe deposit box is something that is extremely rare.
According to Madhu Puchakayala, his box at the Wells Fargo bank on Third Street in the City of Katy had almost everything stolen from it on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017.
“The manager told me that four other safe deposit boxes were found open, including mine. When I asked him why they were found open, since they cannot be opened without a key and a guard, he said it might be due to road construction nearby. Which I do not believe,” Puchakayala said.
Puchakayala contacted the other victims through social media and said they had items stolen too.
“We were shocked to see that 99 percent of my valuables were lost, including jewelry and precious metals,” Puchakayala said. “These are our wedding memories, our first child memories, gifts given to us by our parents and relatives. And I am also worried about my Social Security number, which was in the box,” he added.
In August, Covering Katy contacted Katy branch manager Don Gonzalez, and he referred us to a manager at the Wells Fargo Houston Corporate Office. The corporate office manager, Tymika Morrison, said she could not talk about the case but did confirm that an internal investigation is underway.
On Tuesday, Oct, 4 we contacted Morrison again and she did not have any additional facts or information to add to what she said weeks ago.
“It’s still under investigation,” Morrison said.
Morrison also declined comment when asked if Wells Fargo had video of the suspect and made no comment when informed that customers were calling Covering Katy asking for answers because they could not get information from Wells Fargo.
Meantime, one customer who contacted Covering Katy looking for answers is considering switching banks due to the lack of information being provided to customers who were not burglarized.
“How do I know my stuff is safe there?”she said.