Arrested for stealing from deceased woman
Posted/updated on: February 28, 2026 at 5:24 pm
TYLER — James Dale Turner, a former Tyler Regions Bank employee, was arrested Monday for the second time after authorities discovered he stole more than $17,000 from the account of a woman who died in February 2025.
According to our news partner KETK, Turner was previously arrested Aug. 15, 2025, for exploiting a different elderly woman with dementia, allegedly stealing $3,812 from her account through cashier’s checks in May and June 2025. At the time, he was employed as a banker at the Tyler branch of Regions Bank and was terminated on July 25, 2025.
An affidavit shows Turner withdrew funds from the deceased woman’s account between October 2024 and May 2025, using cashier’s checks ranging from $500 to $2,000 per transaction, totaling $17,013.
Regions Bank personnel were contacted in October 2025 by the woman’s executor, who requested account statements. Branch staff recalled placing a “no post” on the account after noticing a mysterious debit for a cashier’s check.
Tyler police contacted Turner, who admitted he remembered the woman but claimed he did not know she had died. He said he chose the account because it held a large balance and told authorities, “it was probably like the last one.”
Turner was booked into Smith County Jail on Monday on a charge of exploitation of an elderly person, with a bond set at $25,000. Jail records show he was released on Tuesday.
