‘Cowboy Bob’ Robber Killed in Standoff
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DALLAS — A bank robber once dubbed “Cowboy Bob” because of her bearded male disguise was fatally shot by police Thursday after holding up a bank, fleeing in a recreational vehicle and pulling a toy gun that officers thought was real.
Peggy Jo Tallas, 60, stopped the RV in a residential area two miles from the bank in Tyler in northeast Texas, police spokesman Don Martin said. She was not in disguise, although a number of wigs and hats were found in the vehicle.
Officers were trying to persuade her to surrender when she pulled what appeared to be a revolver, prompting four officers to open fire, Martin said.
Tallas was convicted of three counts of bank robbery in the early 1990s, Martin said. Tallas had eluded authorities by posing as a Western-styled man, complete with fake beard, sunglasses and cowboy duds.
She was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison in 1993 after pleading guilty to robbing a Mesquite bank, one of four she held up during a 10-month period.
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