The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. The unsolved mystery of the Van Meter Visitor a winged creature! '. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. David didn't appreciate her tone. Prosecutors say a vault. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The trainee didn't yet know how the place worked, a fact David planned to use to his advantage. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such asshaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million.. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. There are many robberies registered in the history of America, but the Loomis Fargo Robbery is known to be the second largest robbery in the United States. He ejected the two VCR tapes that he knew had recorded him stealing the money, took them, and prepared to leave. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Scott Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. We dont have the manpower to track all that (restitution) money down I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. The Charlotte area's economy was booming all around him, and he felt passed over. In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt about an old high school friend of hers named Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt to execute a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. If a prank seemed dangerous, David backed out. In the movie: Campbell invites Ghantt to a restaurant under the auspices of a date, but then springs the idea of the heist on him, as Chambers and two associates join the conversation from an . The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. Why do we feel its so necessary to treat people like this, to say, OK, well just ruin the rest of your life because you made a bad decision., Punishment should not last a lifetime. They didnt expect it.. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997, Incident raises concerns about LGBTQ safety in Carteret County, Drug deal gone bad claims the life of former Marine, Man charged with DWI after SUV takes out gas pumps, fire hydrant in Morehead City, Norfolk Southern train derails in Lexington No hazmat, no anger, Beaufort Housing Authority to replace public housing apartments, New Gamer's Guildhall looks to build community, comradery, DA: 'A very dangerous individual' from Swansboro has been removed, EDITORIAL: Government derails in response to disasters, EDITORIAL: Traffic growth demands a third bridge addition, Commentary: Close look at family history disturbing, Commentary: Second Amendment subverts democracy, EDITORIAL: Attorney General Stein ignores his constitutional responsibility. The affidavit described Chambers as a former FBI informant who had provided information on another Loomis armored car robbery that never materialized. David and Steve had never met, but Steve had already secured somebody else's birth certificate and social security card for him and given it to Kelly to pass along. Stealing from Loomis Fargo could make him rich, if he got away with it. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. Sunny. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. One number is working in Campbells favor. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. People dont seem to understand human nature. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. Each cart, holding about $2 million, was taking David seven or eight minutes to stack, push, and empty into the van, and there were about eight cartloads' worth in the vault. La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. To visit friends.". They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Most people are going to forgive you. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. "Are you serious?" - Jeffrey Guller, who at 81 is by far the oldest of the Loomis defendants, still owes almost $1.1 million on his original court debt of $1.14 million and will remain on the governments books for another four years. The $17 million was stolen last Oct. 4 from the armored-car company's vault in Charlotte. How many people have walked the red carpet at a movie premiere in a case that was yours?. Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. By this time, agents knew where he was and had a general idea who the other players were, so they went to every bank in town to see if any of them rented a safe deposit box. Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News Steve's a serious guy.". In the first couple of weeks, they had heard both Steve and Shelley bragging about their new-found fortune, and spending remarkable amounts of money. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. The Star-Ledger, 06/15/2015On October 4, 1997, an amateurish gang robbed Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, NC of $17 million, the second largest heist in U.S. history. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. These weren't the hardest of criminals, and though there was logic to not knowing each other's names, they had derived some of their methods from Hollywood depictions of crime. He couldn't understand the gap, why he wasn't more successful, why he couldn't at least match the financial stability of his father, who earned a comfortable salary driving a truck. You have permission to edit this article. Outside of the building, Ghantt met up with Campbell, Chambers, and others who were involved in the plot, and drove off to a printing business called Reynolds & Reynolds in northwest Charlotte. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. (LogOut/ Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. The gang made numerous mistakes. About the worst he had done as a teenager was stealing a construction company's Porta-Jon with a friend, tying it to the back of a pickup truck, and driving around for about fifteen minutes. The only other employee with him on this day was a trainee. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie? The bigger the amount, however, the bigger the damages to victims that likely will never be repaid: - Amy Paynes collection account was closed in 2020 with her having paid $53,000 of the $274,000 she owed. Libraries without that edition should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel. Who all wanted a Rambo movie which explored his time training as a green beret and his time serving in Vietnam as a prequel to first blood WATCH Antebellum 2020 FULL MOVIE. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. It was 2:00 p.m. on October 4, 1997, and tension was building between two planners of what would rank high among the largest heists in United States history. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. Steve was a serious guy? In preparation for what lay ahead, David had backed an unmarked company Ford Econoline van near the vault entrance and opened the van's back door. In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt about an old high school friend of hers named Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt to execute a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. Holding her hands behind her back, Michele Chambers was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and eight months in prison for her role in the $17 million heist from Loomis, Fargo & Co. She was also. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. It was the second-largest. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. High around 65F. They had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. The bag held his mobile phone and handgun. Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. You can seize property. The plan was to maintain a low profile and wait for things to cool off, allowing Ghantt to return to the states and collect his cut. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all., WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says, ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, ALSO READ: Man released from jail, accused of robbing banks while wearing electronic monitor, police say, ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says, NCSHP arrest driver accused of nearly hitting 2 students at bus stop in Statesville, CMS delays opening of new school meant to ease overcrowding, Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teens death, Chick-fil-A announces app data breach, tells customers how to protect personal information, Charlotte woman celebrates $1 million scratch-off prize, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist - PrepScholar "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. Not every agent has a case like that, he said. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east. In the grand scheme of things, the prison sentence for stealing $20 million wouldn't be much worse than for stealing just $500,000 maybe a few extra years behind bars. The case resurfaced in the federal courts on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte posted a public reminder in the case file of Loomis defendant Kelly Campbell that she had fallen behind in her restitution. Expanded two-hour true crime story about the 1997 Loomis-Fargo armored car heist in North Carolina and the serio-comic fate of its bumbling underdog perpetra. It's still the hot topic . The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. Its a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I went down and talked to them, got to meet Zach Galifianakis and the director, Ghantt said.
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