PEARLAND, Texas -- Malford Lewis at first thought the robbery at a Pearland bank on Friday was a joke.
He walked into the Chase Bank in the 1900 block of North Main to make a deposit and four masked gunmen walked in behind him.
Lewis was on the ground with almost a dozen others. He heard the suspects in the back and saw the injured bank manager heading in his direction.
He hoped it was his chance to get out.
The bank manager went out the front door, Lewis said. Just about the time I m about ready to get up off the floor and go out behind him, the robber ran to the front, so I stayed where I was.
Police would later identify the suspect left inside as Samuel Bonner.
He kept saying, I m not gonna hurt y all, recalled Lewis. You re gonna make it out. You just gotta bear with me until all of this plays out. It s gonna be over soon.
Lewis girlfriend, Donetta Gardner, stood outside the bank for hours, waiting for news. She was terrified.
I m afraid of him not coming home, said Gardner.
Lewis said he listened to Bonner explain his intentions while the suspect was on the phone with a woman acquaintance.
He told her, yeah, I should have listened, said Lewis. I should have stayed in my bed. I didn t need this (expletive) today. They came to me cause they were broke and look what I m in. [The other suspects] left me behind.
At one point, Lewis said Bonner made a hostage pull down all the cameras, He said the gunman used a bank teller as a human shield and created nicknames for some of the hostages. Lewis had a picture of a big rig on his cell phone so he was given the nickname truck driver.
Bonner also made the hostages stand up and look at the police activity outside.
He says, everybody get up and look so y all can see what I see, Lewis remembered.
In hopes of negotiating a getaway car, Bonner let a few people go.
Lewis remembers a phone conversation Bonner had with the hostage negotiator.
I know what y all are gonna do to me and I m prepared, Lewis recalled him saying. I wanna at least have an opportunity to get away.
Lewis believes he was the fourth hostage to be released, but before he could go, the suspect had a plan for him.
He said, truck driver stand up, Lewis said. Make sure when you go out, you have your hands in the air cause I don t want them to mistake you for me.
With a gun pointed at his back, Lewis walked out with orders from Bonner to unlock his SUV.
The cops are hollering, come here, come here said Lewis. No dude. This dude is pointing the gun at my back. I can t. I gotta at least attempt for him to see that I did do what he asked me to do.
He managed to unlock the door before running to safety and finding the nearest officer with a phone.
I need to call my girlfriend Lewis said at the time. I don t know if she knows what s going on, but I need to call her and let her know that I m okay.
Gardner answered the phone and burst into tears.
He gets on the phone and told me, I m okay stop crying, said Gardner.
The gunman never used Lewis s SUV, eventually surrendering to authorities.
As for Lewis, he made his deposit. It just took much longer than expected.
