New details are emerging in the investigation into a bank robbery on the University of Houston campus after a suspect was taken into custody.
Jerome Ruben, 24, was arrested on Friday, Jan. 9, after investigators tracked him leaving his apartment. He was pulled over and taken into custody by the Harris County Violent Persons Task Force.
Recommended Videos
When he was stopped, a law enforcement source said he was driving the same vehicle used to flee a TDECU bank robbery on the University of Houston campus two days earlier.
READ MORE: Armed robbery reported at UH’s TDECU credit union for second time since October
The robbery occurred on Jan. 7 at the on-campus TDECU—a location that was previously targeted in a separate heist on Oct. 28, 2025.
A source told KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry that investigators found a “large amount of currency” inside Ruben’s vehicle when he was pulled over. Officers recovered a black hijab and a black dress, items investigators believe were worn during the Jan. 7 robbery.
According to another source, a bank employee told police the suspect appeared to be wearing fake breasts during the robbery—a detail investigators believe was intended to disguise the suspect’s identity.
After the bank’s first robbery back in October, the FBI released surveillance images of a suspect, dubbing him the “Cougar Campus Crook” and asking the public for help identifying him.
KPRC 2 is working to confirm whether Ruben is also suspected in the “Cougar Campus Crook” robbery, but that incident is still under investigation.
MORE ON THE FIRST HEIST: FBI releases photos of ‘Cougar Campus Crook’ wanted for University of Houston bank robbery
Ruben appeared before a judge on Monday morning. He was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and given a $2 million bond for that charge.
He was also on probation for an aggravated robbery conviction at the time of his new arrest.
Ruben has now also been charged in a separate case involving an attempted robbery of a cash store in Baytown and a violent sexual assault of the store’s employee, according to court records. He has also been charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and another count of aggravated robbery in that case.
MORE ON THAT CASE: Court docs detail alleged sexual assault, armed robbery tied to suspect in UH campus bank robbery
He was given a bond totaling $3 million for those three charges, along with the $2 million tied to the bank robbery investigation.
Both investigations remain ongoing.