Did father and two children rob banks in Oregon and Texas?

By KATU.com Published: Nov 17, 2012 at 4:47 PM PDT Last Updated: Nov 18, 2012 at 11:59 AM PDT
Did father and two children rob banks in Oregon and Texas? »Play Video
From left to right: Ronald Catt, Hayden Catt and Abigail Catt.

FORT BEND, Texas -- An Oregon family who is charged with several Texas bank robberies, may be at the center of investigation for robbing banks in Oregon as well.

Ronald Catt, 50, and his son Hayden Catt, 20 and daughter Abigail Catt, 18, were arrested Nov. 9 after allegedly robbing a Katy, Texas bank Oct. 1. The family is originally from Oregon.

After police interviewed the three suspects, they think the trio may be connected to five bank robbery cases in the Portland area.

Fort Bend detectives notified Oregon authorities to see if some of the cases in the Portland area match up with the new information. Beth Anne Steele, the spokeswoman for the FBI office in Portland, said none of the three have been charged in connection to any Portland-area bank robberies. She also refused to say whether the FBI is investigating the case.

In the alleged Oct. 1 Texas bank robbery, two men entered the bank wearing orange traffic vests and dark sunglasses and held employees at gunpoint. The younger suspect wore a fake mustache and the older suspect wore a painter’s mask. Police said Abigail Catt was the getaway driver.

Ronald Catt and Hayden Catt were arrested at an apartment in the 300 block of Dominion in the Katy area on warrants signed by Associate District Judge Pedro Ruiz. Both men have bonds of $140,000 and remain in the Fort Bend County Jail.

Abby Catt was arrested later that day at the Sheriff’s Office. She has a $100,000 bond.

Detectives focused on the emergency protective vests the suspects wore during the alleged robbery. Police went to the Home Depot in Rosenberg, Texas -– the closest Home Depot to the sheriff’s office -- to see what they had on the shelf and found one that closely resembled the vests worn by the suspects. Police later said the most important factor on the vests was the X on the back, which narrowed the search field.

Ronald Catt and Hayden Catt were further linked to the August robbery of a Comerica Bank in Texas' Harris County. In that case, the suspects wore painter outfits with painter masks.

Between the two robberies, detectives picked up on a stolen license plate case at Kingsland Boulevard and West Green in the Katy area, so they believed the suspects might be situated in the vicinity.

With that information, detectives checked the Home Depot at Fry Road and I-10, and while viewing videotapes at the checkout counters, they identified Hayden and Abby Catt as buying the vests with Ronald Catt's debit card. Ronald Catt was later videotaped purchasing a painter’s mask.