Posted on 10/02/2008 5:17:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Craisgslist advertisment offered $28.50 an hour for landscaping work but it failed to mention the possibility of being a decoy for a grab-and-run robbery.
A man wearing a blue, long-sleeved shirt, yellow safety vest, safety glasses or other eye protection and ventilator mask -- the outfit specified in the ad -- accosted a Brinks armored truck guard with pepper spray about 11 a.m. in Monroe, Wash.
Tuesday during a cash delivery to a Bank of America branch, grabbed a bag of money and eluded pursuers after entering a nearby creek.
Left behind were a number of similarly clad workers who answered the ad that said to gather near the bank at late morning in the town about 25 miles northeast of Seattle to work on a city project, Monroe police spokeswoman Debbie Willis said.
FBI agents were trying to determine the source of the ad on the Internet classified site, Willis said.
"We believe the ad was not a credible ad and that it may have been an attempt to get people dressed like the suspect into the area," she said.
As of Thursday morning no one had been arrested and the source of the ad remained undetermined, FBI Agent Roberta A. Burroughs said.
She told The Herald of Everett that she had never heard of a similar tactic in 15 years of investigating bank holdups.
"There's nothing about this case that's run of the mill," Burroughs said.
Two witnesses chased the robber but could not catch him, and soon after another witness saw a man fitting the description of the robber entering nearby Woods Creek, police operations Cmdr. Gary Clopp said.
Parts of the creek can be crossed on foot while others would require swimming, Clopp said.
"We do know that he got into the (water)," Willis said. "Where he exited and how he got there, we still don't know."
The amount of money taken was not disclosed. It was not immediately clear how many workers showed up because of the ad.
"The e-mail specifically said to wear a blue shirt and said, 'If a project manager is not there, do not leave,'" said Mike Stevenson, 30, of Bremerton, one of several workers who gathered at a Monroe park.
"We started wondering if guys were going to show up and shoot paint balls at us, or if we were about to be 'Punk'd' and Ashton Kutcher was going to show up," Stevenson told The Seattle Times, referring to a practical joke television show hosted by the actor. "Turns out we were set up as decoys for a robbery instead."
A similar ploy was used in a movie made in 1999, "The Thomas Crown Affair," in which an art thief wearing a trench coat and bowler hat makes off with a priceless masterpiece from a museum as security guards are distracted by several lookalikes the crook hired.
Burroughs said the tactic failed to cause similar confusion at the scene Tuesday.
"Was it really necessary? Did it help the guy out? I don't think so," she said.
** Gotta bookmark this - You just can’t make this stuff up! **
Vaguely reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes story, “The Redheaded League.”
Sometimes, you just gotta laugh.
A few years ago, the police in my town received a phone call that a bank on the West side of town was being robbed with one bank teller already shot dead and the robbers taking hostages. Every police car for miles around converged on the bank. While this was ocurring, the robbers robbed a bank on the East side of town. They got away clean.
I wouldn't rule out Ashton Kutcher... does he have an alibi?
Robber is in his late teens, probably early 20's. He went upstream, probably not that far and exited the stream near a parking lot where he stripped the outer part of the outfit and changed into clothes hidden in a pack nearby. He walked to his car, got in and drove away.
The robber is also not likely to immediately start spending any of the money.
The ad was probably placed from a coffee shop/internet cafe on the opposite side of town from the robber's place of residence, or using an open wireless network. Either way the location the ad was placed from will be quite a distance from the robber's residence.
However, I suspect the robber is employed at one of the shops or offices near the bank.
Where do I get my reward money when they catch him?
The main thing is, did these guys get their $28.50? If not, they have a great wage claim with the state Dept. of Labor.
This looks like a good job for future Ex-Congress members..... ;)
You can’t make this up!
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