loomis fargo heist kelly campbell

It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. Sure to be in demand as the book has been made into a movie, Masterminds, to be released in August.Michael Sawyer, Pine Bluff, AR. "So he stays behind and moving over two thousand pounds of . Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. That was taking the long view. As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. Living with his wife, Tammy, in a mobile home, he had longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood that had come to seem luxurious, a pipe dream for him now. She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. Heist! He put on his best pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and his nicest cowboy boots. (LogOut/ He realized his life wouldn't improve unless he did something drastic. Thank you so much. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. You can seize property. Just after the last employees left that day, surveillance footage shows a man enter the vault, and begin to load more than 2,740 pounds in cash into a nearby van, totaling around over $17 million. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) 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., Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it,, You can garnish wages. She'd left Loomis in November 1996 to take a job elsewhere as a security guard. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. The friend was Steve Chambers, and Kelly said he knew his way around the world of crime. "Don't double-cross us," the woman on the phone told David Ghantt. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. He decided at that moment that if Kelly called again, he would go for it. Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . Kelly Campbell - Wikipedia Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. (LogOut/ He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997 Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie? real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. At about 6:40 p.m., he went back inside. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. The plan was to exit through the building's electronic back gate, which consisted of horizontal metal plates that opened at the touch of a button. David placed their odds of success at 85 percent, a confidence inspired by faith not just in his planning but also in his feelings for Kelly. So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Growing up, David's family went to Disney World, sent him to religious school, and shopped at places he couldn't afford as a self-supporting adult. Four-wheeling. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis. 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. 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. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. Inside $3.3 million was located along with the two stolen surveillance tapes, apparently left due to the robber and his accomplices being sloppy, or in a hurry. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. But if you did, youll never forget it. Diamant, a journalist who reported on the case at the time, goes into meticulous detail on how the heist was pulled off and its aftermath. He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. Despite being caught on camera wheeling the money from the vault to the getaway van, David Ghantt makes off to Mexico before the FBI can blink. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. 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. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country forMexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions. He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. 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. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. Its in the ether. Its in the ether. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Is this really about the needs of the poor? Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. David would simply empty the vault and deliver the money to the others. Jim Gronquist, Campbells defense attorney during the Loomis case, says the financial penalties levied against his client and her co-defendants are grossly excessive and unjust, particularly since most of the stolen Loomis money was actually recovered. 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. Johnson had stolen $18.8 million earlier in the year, on March 19, 1997, only to be caught five months later, in late August, while crossing into Texas from Mexico to retrieve some of the money, which he'd hidden in a shed in mountainous western North Carolina. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft 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. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. But that only tells part of the story. Chambers would then occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; when the heat was off, Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators. A former FBI agent who helped crack the case sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. Library Journal "highly entertaining." After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. The gang made numerous mistakes. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. He and Tammy could have one or two meals each week that he really liked, but the rest were hot dogs or Hamburger Helper. Then, keeping with the plan, Ghantt took $50,000 (the maximum that could be taken across the border by law without further authorization) with him and left for Mexico, winding up at the popularYucatan Peninsularesort ofCozumel. Former Loomis employee David Scott Ghantt is accused of stealing the money. "What would it take to make you do it?". them. David Ghantt And The Ridiculous Loomis Fargo Heist To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. The principals here are David Ghantt, a driver for Loomis, Fargo and Co.; Kelly Campbell, the woman Ghantt had a crush on, and who convinced him to commit the crime; and Steve and Michele Chambers. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. There's just one hitch: Ghantt has entrusted the money to an oddball crew of accomplices who had wooed him into committing this massive theft in the first placeand who, he soon learns, are trying to take him out. She will never get beyond the debt. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. NASCAR. They located Steve and Shelley Chambers in their newly-purchased home at the top of a hill. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. Chambers had no intention of wiring any money to Ghantt and intended to have him killed to keep him from implicating the others. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. Perry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; and Eric Haley Payne.. It was the second-largest. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. She had attitude. Most people are going to forgive you. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. I dont know if Steve would have done it himself, but he definitely was capable of buying someone to do it for him and I think that was going to happen if we didnt step in and arrest Ghantt, Wydra said. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. 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. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth., White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money,, Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with., She will never get beyond the debt. Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. In David's eyes, Johnson's big mistake was that he did it alone. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997 be blocked or permanently banned without warning.