Las Vegas Man Arrested After Alleged Bank Heist Attempt

LAS VEGAS – According to an arrest report, a Las Vegas man was arrested after allegedly robbing a bank and attempting to rob another two days later.

Donald Hampton, 70, is charged with robbery, attempted robbery, and two counts of a first-time business burglary.

Beginning on November 5, the same perpetrator committed additional bank robberies in the same manner. According to an arrest report, in all of the robberies, the suspect would hand a note to the teller requesting all large amounts and implying that a bomb had been planted in the bank.

A black male wearing a black beanie, red jacket, and blue pants entered Chase Bank on Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard just before 1 p.m. on Nov. 5. According to the arrest report, the man went straight to the teller window and passed a note that said “I’ll bomb the bank in 15 minutes. All 100-dollar bills.”

Because the teller did not see the note at first, the man claimed them he had a bomb in the bank while demanding money. The cashier eventually sounded the robbery alarm and handed over $5,000 to the man.

As he walked away, the man warned the cashier that if he heard sirens or saw police within the next 15 minutes, he would blow up the bank. According to the police report, he pretended to have a detonator in his palm, but the teller noticed that it was really a yellow highlighter.

According to the arrest report, no fingerprints were collected at the site, but numerous surveillance footage assisted police in tracking the perpetrator prior to the crime.

A black male wearing a khaki jacket, blue pants, blue latex gloves, and a surgical mask strolled into the same bank at 9:40 a.m. on Nov. 7, took a deposit slip, and began writing, according to the arrest report.

A security guard approached the man as he was writing, and he promptly departed. According to authorities, the security guard spotted the word “all” scrawled on the slip before he left.

The bank manager thought it was the same man from the Nov. 5 robbery and called the cops. Employees observed him go to a nearby bus stop and boarding a bus heading east on West Sahara Avenue.

The bus was halted by police at Sahara Avenue and Paradise Road, but the man had already exited at the previous stop.

On the same day, at about 11:01 a.m., a male dressed similarly entered the Nevada State Bank on East Bridger Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

According to the arrest report, the man handed the cashier a deposit form that reads “all huge money” and began to babble. When the teller realized the man was attempting to rob her, she locked her computer and went away from the window.

According to the arrest report, the man stood at the window for a few minutes and said, “I’ll blow this house up,” but eventually left empty-handed.

Detectives quickly recognized the suspect as the same person who had called in a suspicious person earlier that day at Chase Bank.

The parallels between the Nov. 5 heist and the Nov. 7 attempted robbery were also noted by police, including identical handwriting on the notes and both suspects being of similar stature and build.

On November 16, police distributed images from the robberies to local news outlets, pleading for the public’s assistance.

According to the arrest record, police got an anonymous tip on Nov. 17 that the suspect resembled a guy named Donald Lee Hampton.

A background check on Hampton found a lengthy criminal history extending back to the 1970s, including many felony convictions for burglary and robbery. Hampton had been arrested more than 25 times in Nevada and four times in Utah prior to his felony convictions, according to the arrest report.

On December 1, Hampton was detained at ReKindle Church near Charleston Boulevard and Maryland Parkway.

In an interview with police, Hampton agreed that he was the individual in camera footage from the Nov. 5 robbery, but denied any robberies and instead stated that he was withdrawing money from his account, according to the arrest report.

When asked with the Nov. 7 event, he admitted to visiting the bank in the past but denied being present on that day. According to the arrest report, Hampton informed police that he did not try to rob the bank after admitting in surveillance film that it was him and that he created the message.

Hampton is due to appear in court on December 20 at 9 a.m.

Credits: 8 News Now