HOUSTON, Texas – New court records are shedding light on the criminal history of the man accused of robbing a credit union on the University of Houston campus.
Jerome Ruben, 24, appeared in court this week following his arrest in connection with the Jan. 7 armed robbery at the on-campus TDECU credit union.
Law enforcement sources say Ruben used a hijab, a black dress, and what a bank employee described as fake breasts. They also said officers later recovered those items, along with a large amount of cash, when he was pulled over two days later, driving the same vehicle used to flee the robbery.
Court records show Ruben has a lengthy criminal history spanning multiple counties.
In Galveston County, records list misdemeanors and traffic cases, along with a 2022 burglary conviction that resulted in probation. He later violated that probation and served six months in jail.
In Harris County, Ruben was previously accused of robbing a pizza delivery driver at gunpoint, stealing the victim’s car, and belongings. He was placed on probation again, which he violated. One condition of that probation was that he stay off the University of Houston campus.
Court records also show Ruben is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in Baytown last December while he was on probation for a prior case.
Ruben now faces charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated robbery in that case.
He has now been charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in the UH credit union case and was given a $2 million bond. An additional $3 million bond was set for the Baytown case, bringing his total bond to $5 million.
Ruben’s next court date is scheduled for Feb. 17. Both investigations remain ongoing.