While not a thread moron, Randy Washington deserves his moment in the sun:
suntimes.com
Authorities say caller admitted heist
February 23, 2005
BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter
The phone call to a popular confessions show on WKSC-FM (103.5) could go down as one of the dumbest acts by a criminal in recent times, authorities said.
Instead of the typical talk of naughty love affairs or childish road rage, a man who called himself "D" volunteered last fall that he and five others robbed a TCF Bank inside a Jewel-Osco last April.
"D" gave specific details of a crime that went unsolved for five months, including that an employee had been in on it, that they tied up the bank workers, that those involved took money from the vault but avoided the dye packs and that they got off with $81,000.
He even bragged about heading to Michigan Avenue days later to buy himself a Louis Vuitton wallet -- in cash.
"So...we set everything up. We planned it out. Turned my house into a ... bank actually and acted it out for like weeks," the caller said, adding he and others were "buyin' Louis Vuitton this, Blass that, everything man."
Station had taped phone call
A TCF worker driving into work in the morning heard the tale on DJ Drex's morning program and recognized it as a holdup at her bank in April 2004, according to a criminal complaint made public this week.
She called authorities.
It didn't take long for the FBI to trace the call back to a cell phone belonging to Randy Washington, 24, of Dolton.
FBI agents headed to the radio station, which turned over a cell phone number registered in Washington's name, a transcript and recording of Washington's call.
Washington appeared in federal court this week on charges that he and William Slate, 19, robbed the TCF Bank at 3220 S. Chicago Rd. in South Chicago Heights.
Washington was ordered detained. Slate, who recently moved to Dallas from Tinley Park, will be extradited to Chicago. Authorities are still looking for four others involved in the robbery.
No leads until phone call
FBI officials and prosecutors say Washington's bragging was the break they needed. Authorities didn't have a good description of the robbers because employees were tied up.
"As a result we had no leads until one of the individuals in the robbery called 103.5," Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Brown said. "The details he provided were incredibly helpful in moving this investigation forward."
John Gehron, regional vice president for Clear Channel Communications, said the radio show typically heard confessions about people who cheat or "steal something from work."
"This was one that frankly surprised us," Gehron said.
Washington initially told the FBI he called in to win a prize, had only heard of the robbery and denied any personal involvement.
But FBI agents tracked down an informant who implicated Washington and Slate and said Washington went by the nickname "D," according to an affidavit by Special FBI Agent Frederick E. Osborne. In a recorded conversation, Slate said some of "my guys" bought scooters after the robbery. The FBI found records that Washington bought a scooter April 14. Officials also said they found a Louis Vuitton wallet in his pocket. Inside was a receipt, showing he bought it with cash. |
