Photo: Facebook
His wife turned him in.
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Oct 12, 2019
The average wedding in America costs $45,000 and couples sometimes have to go to extraordinary lengths to pay for their dream weddings. They might take out loans, ask family for assistance, or even set up websites where they ask loved ones to contribute to the cost of the ceremony, reception, or honeymoon. But one Texas man went too far to pay for his wedding and now he's in jail.
Heath Bumpous confessed to trying to rob a bank to pay for a wedding ring for his bride-to-be and for a reception venue in Groveton, TX. He actually made it out the doors of the bank with an undisclosed sum of money and was in the process of fleeing the scene after leaving the building. But police were after him almost immediately and he turned himself in hours later. Now, instead of going on his honeymoon, he's being held on charges of aggravated robbery.
Who is Heath Bumpous? Read on for all the details.
1. Small town Texas
Heath Bumpous hails from Crockett, Texas, which NBC reports is about 120 miles north of Houston. The Heavy reported that Bumpous worked for the Crockett Fire Department and Viking Enterprises Inc. at one time. He has a valid license as a paramedic and that appears to be what he did previously, although it's not clear if he has a job now. Based on social media posts, it seems like his fiancé may work in a similar field and the couple has been engaged since earlier this year.
2. Getting married tomorrow
On Friday, Bumpous headed to the bank to make a withdrawal to pay for his wedding the next day. Only he wasn't planning to withdraw his own money: he was there to rob the bank. KTLA reports that according to surveillance footage and a report by Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace, Bumpous walked into the Citizens State Bank in Groveton and demanded they hand over cash. “He basically stated that he was getting married tomorrow so he didn’t have enough money for a wedding ring that he wanted to buy and he needed to pay for the wedding venue,” Wallace said in a Facebook Live video about the case.
3. Fleeing the scene of the crime
The staff at the bank complied with Bumpous's demand for money, probably because he told them he had a weapon. He fled the scene with an undisclosed sum. Unfortunately for him, the bank is down the block from the sheriff's office so police were able to make it to the scene in a matter of minutes to collect images of him from the security cameras in the building. They had them posted to social media sites within a very short time after the crime was committed and they were asking for the public's help in identifying the bank robber.
Police asked the public for help.
4. Shedding the evidence
Bumpous escaped to a waiting car and drove away from the scene of the crime. He changed his clothes and tossed the ones he had been wearing out the window, according to local news reports. The police recovered the clothes during the course of the investigation. The local schools had to go on lockdown after the robbery, just as a precaution, reports KTRE. No one was allowed in or out of the schools until the police gave an all-clear.
5. Convinced to turn himself in
As he was driving away from the scene of the crime, someone did recognize Bumpous from the online photos: the woman he was engaged to marry. While he was driving down wooded service roads to get away after his heist, his fiancé called him to tell him his picture was all over the news. She convinced him to go turn himself in. Her name has not been reported.
He turned himself in two hours after robbing the bank.
6. Bumpous confesses to the crime
After taking the call from his better half, Bumpous turned himself in to police. The Sheriff's Office reports that they found the most of the money in his car, along with a gun that was most likely the weapon he used in the robbery. He gave a full confession to the police at the time. He is now being held on charges of aggravated robbery. News outlets have not been able to reach him for a comment.
Since he was in jail on his planned wedding day, it looks like Bumpous did not get married, according to NBC. When asked if the nuptials took place, the sheriff said "No wedding took place that I know of," he said, "It didn't happen in my jail."
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.