loomis fargo heist kelly campbell
- On Mar, 12, 2023
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Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. 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. You Save 23%. The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. I actually loved reading through this post. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. Its said the current owner now has it in storage in Phoenix, Arizona. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. She will never get beyond the debt. He also stole both existing sets of vault keys and hurried into the manager's office, where three TV security screens and two VCRs were visible. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. '. just generally being a jerk. - Husband and wife Steven and Michelle Chambers, whose conspicuous consumption of a luxury home, a BMW convertible, breast implants and a $600 wooden Indian, among other purchases, helped the FBI solve the crime, were assessed $3.81 million and $4.8 million, respectively. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. "Just remind Steve," he said, "that I might be trouble my own self." Then they returned it. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Hed never really been in trouble, he wasnt a career criminal, said retired FBI agent John Wydra. 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. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. 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. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. 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. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. 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. (LogOut/ Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. And Kelly thought he was funny. Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. He deserved better. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. What kind of surprised me is how much the car smelled like money, like if you ever hold money up to your nose it has a distinct smell, Wydra said. she asked again. He was on a budget for clothes, even for work boots; he had recently needed to check seven stores before finding a pair in his price range. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). 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. 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. Temptation to do something that you think you normally wouldnt do can change a lot of minds when its that kind of cash, and thats what it was., (WATCH BELOW: VIDEO: The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later). Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct.. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. Over the next two weeks, David thought about it. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a. But after a year, they cut it down to two agents. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. It was David who was hours away from committing the most daring act of his life, and she was going off about Steve being a serious guy? 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 and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. Kelly had approached David with the idea in the summer, knowing he had a crush on her and winning him over with the promise that a shady friend of hers with Mafia ties would help them. "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. It was the second-largest. David knew this was important from having followed the recent news about a Florida man who had brazenly committed the biggest heist from an armored-car company in United States history, a loner named Philip Noel Johnson, who also had worked for Loomis. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. 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. He tried again to make the back gate rise, to no avail. RELATED: When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later, How I held it together is beyond me, Ghantt said. Lacking a college degree, he found that his army skills felt meaningless in the 1990s job market. Thirty years! There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. Prosecutors say a vault. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Aprs de nombreux seconds rles comiques au cinma, elle parvient percer en co-crivant et tenant le rle principal de la They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. 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. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. This was several years before the advent of smartphones and the post-9/11 increase in federal surveillance of electronic communications, and public knowledge about this tracking was less widespread. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. sole discretion of the site administrators and repeat offenders may They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. Getting that off his chest calmed him some, and the conversation returned to the plan. 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. 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. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. A report by the General Accounting Office found that as of budget year 2016, $110 billion in restitution ordered by the federal courts was outstanding and that more than 90% of the amount had been classified as uncollectible.. 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. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). The Loomis Fargo Heist Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. David Ghantt was just an average Joe with an average low-wage job. Discover the truth behind unexplained ancient mysteries, UFO mysteries, secret locations and paranormal events. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. 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.. - 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. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. Steve had hired a bodyguard named Mike McKinney. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. 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. "What would it take to make you do it?". By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. If we can sit on the money for a year, maybe two, it could work.". 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. contact us to submit an unexplained mystery article, or to join the team on the email address below. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis.