The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery - Wikipedia One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. High around 65F. People dont seem to understand human nature. 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. NASCAR. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. I think if you remember some of her early photographic opportunities, shall we put it that way, she was sort of laughing, not seeming to take it seriously.. One number is working in Campbells favor. The strange story of Mary Reeser Spontaneous Human Combustion. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. You can garnish wages. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing cubes of cash and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. The police almost immediately called theFBI, since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. 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. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Its in the ether. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. It's been 20 years since the Loomis Fargo heist. - Charlotte Observer Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers (and his wifes) activities, but it was not until the FBIrecorded a phone callfrom Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. Turns out, most of the thieves and their accomplices have been about as effective coming up with their court-ordered restitution as they were hiding their original crimes. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. 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. Ms. Campbell worked at Loomis for 11 months, leaving in November 1996, according to court papers. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. 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. When Ghantt called Campbell however, the FBI was able to track his location, and arrested him with the help of the Mexican police onMarch 1, 1998. CHARLOTTE (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. Loomis Fargo Heist of 1997 - History and Other Things The next day, before Mike was able to leave the country, the FBI arrested him in his hotel room. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. 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. Well she was a pretty happy-go-lucky person, he said. Growing up, David had been a nice kid, a decent student who was at worst a minor troublemaker and prankster. How he felt shorted by life. 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. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. 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. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Heist!: The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft - amazon.com Steve had hired a bodyguard named Mike McKinney. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. Campbell and her husband had always been just scraping by, however in the weeks following the robbery, the two seemed to have more money than theyve ever had. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. There was a book published in 2002 as well, by author Jeff Diamant called,Heist! 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. The trainee didn't yet know how the place worked, a fact David planned to use to his advantage. If the American Dream involved being better off as adults than your parents were, David was experiencing a version of the American Nightmare. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. The corporation handled armored transportation, ATM maintenance and other cash handling services, and had millions of currency stashed in the vault of the North Carolina branch. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. But that only tells part of the story. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. Steve decided to send his cousin, Nathan with money down to Mexico as a ruse, while Mike the bodyguard would follow behind to take care of Ghantt. Twenty years ago this Wednesday, a small group of people stole $17 million in cash from the main vault of a Loomis Fargo & Co. armored-car warehouse in west Charlotte. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Campbell, the woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored-car company Loomis, Fargo was sentenced yesterday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. He had joined the army and earned an honorable discharge, but because of defense-industry cutbacks he hadn't been able to find a good job for himself. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. The $17 million was stolen last Oct. 4 from the armored-car company's vault in Charlotte. It all seemed unfair. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. He tried again to make the back gate rise, to no avail. He stayed at it until the vault was empty. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. David didn't appreciate her tone. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Discover the truth behind unexplained ancient mysteries, UFO mysteries, secret locations and paranormal events. But if you did, youll never forget it. A connection between each suspect began to emerge slowly, and as the intensity of spending grew, suspicion did as well. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. David got a kick out of her. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. TWO TO ENTER GUILTY PLEAS IN ARMORED-CAR ROBBERY - Greensboro News and Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Im married, I got one girl, shes 15 going on 30. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. He is a graduate of Yale and has worked for the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, and the Palm Beach Post. FILE - Kelly Campbell, one of the 21 people convicted for their involvement in the $17 million Loomis Fargo heist, awaits sentencing for her part in the theft at her mobile home near Mount Holly, N.C. on Aug 16, 1999. 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. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. 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Seven Charged In $17M Heist - CBS News He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history.
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