2023-03-23 Goss
2023 Amarillo National Bank robbery
On March 23, 2023, Amarillo National Bank at 410 South Taylor Street in Amarillo, Texas, was robbed by a man who presented employees with a handwritten demand note. Federal authorities accused Phillip Dayle Goss, then 61, of committing the robbery. According to an FBI affidavit, Amarillo police stopped Goss approximately 15 minutes later, about two blocks from the bank, and arrested him without resistance.
The affidavit states that the robber obtained $1,467 and that officers recovered an Amarillo National Bank zipper bag containing $1,401. Goss was charged by federal criminal complaint with bank robbery under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a).[1] Local news organizations reported that Goss had been released from federal prison the previous month after serving a sentence for robbing the same bank in 2020.[2] The 2023 complaint contains allegations and a probable-cause statement; it does not establish a conviction or provide the case's ultimate disposition.
Robbery
According to the affidavit of FBI Special Agent Andrew Beauchemin, Goss entered the west lobby entrance of Amarillo National Bank at approximately 4:09 p.m. on March 23, 2023. He was described as a 61-year-old white man, approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, with brown-and-gray hair. He wore a dark gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and blue-and-gray sneakers.[1:1]
The affidavit alleges that Goss approached the teller counter and handed a teller and bank manager a handwritten note stating:
IT'S A BANK ROBBERY PUT MONEY IN BAG DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID.
The manager collected $1,467 in currency from beneath the counter. The money reportedly included a group of prerecorded $10 bait bills. A teller provided a blue Amarillo National Bank zipper bag, and the manager placed the currency inside and handed it to the robber.[1:2]
The robber left the demand note inside the bank, exited through the west entrance, and walked west across the parking lot toward South Polk Street. The affidavit does not allege that he displayed a weapon, spoke to the employees, or made a physical threat beyond the language in the note.[1:3] NewsChannel 10 and KVII likewise reported that no weapon was seen.[3][4]
Arrest
Approximately 15 minutes after the robbery, Amarillo Police Department officers stopped Goss near the intersection of Southwest Fifth Avenue and South Harrison Street, about two blocks from the bank. According to the affidavit, he matched the robber's description and was arrested without resistance.
Officers reportedly recovered the blue bank bag and $1,401 in currency. The affidavit does not explain the $66 difference between the $1,467 said to have been taken and the $1,401 said to have been recovered.[1:4]
Goss was taken to the Amarillo Police Department for questioning. Investigators stated that he was still wearing clothing that matched the robber's clothing as recorded by the bank's surveillance system.
Interview
At approximately 5:20 p.m., FBI Special Agent Beauchemin and Amarillo Police Sergeant Michael Hancock interviewed Goss. According to the affidavit, Hancock advised Goss of his rights, and Goss signed a waiver before speaking with investigators.
The affidavit states that Goss admitted entering the bank and giving employees a note identifying the incident as a robbery and directing them to put money into a bag. He reportedly acknowledged that he did not speak to the employees, display a weapon, or make a physical threat.
According to Beauchemin, Goss said he was experiencing financial difficulties and had been unable to obtain Social Security money. The affidavit quotes him as explaining that committing the robbery was a way to obtain the help he believed he needed.
Bank response
On March 24, 2023, Beauchemin interviewed the bank's security officer and the teller manager who had been present during the robbery. The manager stated that they had begun work at 8:00 a.m. and were standing in the teller area when the robber entered.
After the robber left, the manager followed the bank's security procedures and remained at the scene until a supervisor and Amarillo police arrived. The bank closed for the remainder of March 23 and reopened at its normal time the following morning.
Amarillo National Bank was identified in the complaint as a federally insured financial institution, providing the basis for federal jurisdiction.
Federal complaint
Special Agent Beauchemin signed an affidavit asserting probable cause to believe that Goss had committed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lee Ann Reno attested to the affidavit by telephone on March 29, 2023, under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 4.1.
The criminal complaint was filed on March 30, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas under case number 2:23-mj-00046-BR. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Pinkham was identified on the filing.
News coverage
Early local reports gave approximate times and location descriptions that varied slightly from the federal affidavit. KVII reported that the branch at Taylor Street and Southeast Fifth Avenue was robbed at approximately 4:15 p.m.[4:1] NewsChannel 10 reported that officers were dispatched at approximately 4:31 p.m. to the bank's main branch on Southeast Fourth Avenue.[3:1] By comparison, the FBI affidavit states that Goss entered the bank at 4:09 p.m. and identifies its address as 410 South Taylor Street.[1:5]
NewsChannel 10 reported that the robber's note requested approximately $10,000, while the affidavit reproduces a demand note that did not specify an amount and states that employees handed over $1,467.[1:6][3:2] The station also reported that officers found the suspect a few blocks away with the bank bag in his possession and that violent-crimes detectives responded to the investigation.[3:3]
KVII identified the person arrested as Phillip Goss and reported his age as 64.[4:2] The FBI affidavit, however, gave Goss's age as 61.[1:7] Both KVII and the affidavit reported that police arrested him approximately 15 minutes after the robbery near Southwest Fifth Avenue and South Harrison Street and recovered a bank bag.[1:8][4:3]
2020 robbery of the same bank
According to KVII, Goss had previously robbed the same Amarillo National Bank branch on February 3, 2020.[2:1] A contemporaneous police description identified the then-unidentified robber as a white man approximately 6 feet tall and 185 pounds, with a white goatee. Police said he demanded money and fled west from the bank.[5]
KVII, citing court records, reported that Goss handed a teller a note demanding money and warning employees not to do anything stupid. The teller included $10 bait bills with other currency, and Goss reportedly left with $1,251 before checking into the Star Lodge Motel on Amarillo Boulevard.[2:2]
One week later, Goss surrendered at Amarillo Police Department headquarters. According to the report, he gave officers a note stating, “I'm the one that robbed the bank last week.” He reportedly told investigators that the dark-colored hat and coat worn during the robbery were in his motel room.[2:3]
Goss had $377 in an Amarillo National Bank envelope when he surrendered, including a $10 bill that matched one of the bait bills. Police also obtained from the motel manager a $100 bill and five $10 bills that Goss had used to rent the room. The five $10 bills were identified as bank bait bills.[2:4]
Goss pleaded guilty in the 2020 federal bank-robbery case and was sentenced in December 2020 to three and a half years in federal prison. KVII reported that the Federal Bureau of Prisons released him from FCI El Reno in Oklahoma on February 2, 2023, approximately seven weeks before the 2023 robbery.[2:5]
Earlier criminal history
KVII reported that Goss pleaded guilty to arson in Randall County in 2013 and received a six-year prison sentence.[2:6] This information comes from the news report; the underlying arson court record was not included among the sources reviewed for this entry.
Discrepancies among sources
| Detail | Federal complaint | Local reporting |
|---|---|---|
| Time of 2023 robbery | Approximately 4:09 p.m.[1:9] | Approximately 4:15 p.m. in KVII's report; police dispatched at approximately 4:31 p.m. in NewsChannel 10's report.[3:4][4:4] |
| Goss's age | 61.[1:10] | 64 in KVII's report.[4:5] |
| Amount requested | The reproduced note did not specify an amount.[1:11] | Approximately $10,000 in NewsChannel 10's report.[3:5] |
| Amount handed over | $1,467.[1:12] | Initially described as undisclosed by KVII.[4:6] |
| Amount recovered | $1,401.[1:13] | Described as money in a recovered bank bag, without a published total.[3:6][4:7] |
| Branch location | 410 South Taylor Street.[1:14] | Taylor Street and Southeast Fifth Avenue in KVII; the main branch on Southeast Fourth Avenue in NewsChannel 10.[3:7][4:8] |
Timeline
| Date and time | Event |
|---|---|
| February 3, 2020 | Goss robbed the same Amarillo National Bank branch, according to court records cited by KVII.[2:7] |
| Approximately February 10, 2020 | Goss surrendered to Amarillo police one week after the robbery.[2:8] |
| December 2020 | Goss was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery.[2:9] |
| February 2, 2023 | Goss was released from FCI El Reno, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons information reported by KVII.[2:10] |
| March 23, 2023, approximately 4:09 p.m. | A man entered Amarillo National Bank and presented a robbery note. |
| March 23, 2023, approximately 15 minutes after the robbery | Police stopped Goss about two blocks from the bank and arrested him without resistance. |
| March 23, 2023, approximately 5:20 p.m. | FBI and Amarillo police investigators interviewed Goss after advising him of his rights. |
| March 24, 2023 | The FBI interviewed the bank's security officer and the teller manager. |
| March 29, 2023 | A federal magistrate judge attested to the FBI affidavit by telephone. |
| March 30, 2023 | The federal criminal complaint was filed. |
People
- Phillip Dayle Goss: The defendant named in the federal criminal complaint.
- Andrew Beauchemin: FBI special agent who submitted the probable-cause affidavit.
- Michael Hancock: Amarillo Police Department sergeant who participated in Goss's interview.
- Lee Ann Reno: U.S. magistrate judge who attested to the affidavit.
- Meredith Pinkham: Assistant U.S. attorney identified on the complaint.
Sources
United States v. Phillip Dayle Goss, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit, No. 2:23-mj-00046-BR (N.D. Tex. filed March 30, 2023) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Jamie Burch, “Amarillo National Bank robbery suspect robbed same location 3 years ago,” KVII, April 5, 2023. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Tamlyn Cochran, “Officials find man suspected of stealing money at Amarillo National Bank,” NewsChannel 10, March 23, 2023. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Jamie Burch, “Suspect caught minutes after police say he robbed Amarillo National Bank,” KVII, March 24, 2023. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Matthew Watkins, “Amarillo police searching for man who robbed downtown Amarillo National branch,” KVII, February 3, 2020. ↩︎