Foiled Bank Robbery - Troy, MO

[wipfel]

The bank president wasn't going to put up with this crap. Not sure what he could have done if the guy had just driven away, since I don't think it's legal to use lethal force in that instance.

http://www.stltoday....4baebc1539.html

David W. Thompson, the president of a Troy bank, was in his office Tuesday afternoon talking with a salesman about advertising when his receptionist buzzed him with an emergency.

"David, we've got a problem," she told him.

Thompson said he looked out his office window into the bank lobby of Peoples Bank & Trust. He saw that his tellers looked fearful. And he saw a man wearing a heavy jacket and a ghoulish Halloween mask calmly walk away from the tellers, carrying one of the bank's money bags.

Thompson, 58, followed the man outside, onto the parking lot, and locked the bank door behind him. Thompson let the robber get to his truck — then Thompson pulled his personal handgun, a Colt .380, and pointed it at the robber's face before he could drive away, he told the Post-Dispatch.

"Sir, get out of the truck," Thompson remembers demanding. "You're not going anywhere."

And when the man put his hand in his jacket pocket, as if he had a weapon, Thompson scolded him again.

"You don't want to go there," Thompson implored. "This will end badly."

By that time, another bank official who also carries a concealed weapon had joined Thompson on the lot.

"Now you have two guns on you," Thompson said. "Don't try anything."

The robber, it turns out, had no weapon of his own. He only pretended to have one — but Thompson said he wasn't scared.

"It worked out wonderfully," Thompson said Wednesday morning. "I had the element of surprise."

The bank robber never took off his mask or said anything during the confrontation on the parking lot, Thompson said. He said he thought the man was on drugs because he walked slowly and had slow movements to his right and left. Thompson said he pulled the man from the truck and stood between the robber and the truck. Thompson could hear the sirens in the distance.

Police arrived within 60 seconds of the time the bandit walked out of the bank. Police forced him to the ground and pulled the mask off his face. The man's eyes looked a bit dazed, Thompson said. Thompson didn't recognize the man but one of his tellers later said she did. Police opened the man's wallet, and Thompson saw a debit card for Peoples Bank, at 430 East Wood Street.

"That's when I realized he was one of our customers," Thompson said.

The man, Donald R. Lee, 58, of the first block of Ruby Drive in unincorporated Lincoln County, was charged with first-degree robbery. His bail was set at $50,000 cash-only. Afterward, Thompson did some research on the suspect. Lee had opened an account with the bank in April, Thompson said. The man had walked into the bank a few minutes before the lobby was to close for the day. There were about 60 employees in the three-story building and about three customers in the bank, Thompson said.

The man had ignored, and brushed right by, two bank employees who told him to take off the Halloween mask. The teller also told him to remove the mask, but he said, "No, you gotta give me all your money."

The tellers then saw the masked man put his hand in his coat pocket, indicating he had a gun. Thompson credits his tellers for their handling of the situation.

"They did exactly what they were supposed to do," he said. "They stayed calm and nobody caused a stink."

Thompson said his own training kicked in, too, and he knew to let the robber get outside — so his workers were safe —and to lock the door behind him. He wasn't scared. Mad is more like it, he said.

"I didn't have time to get scared," Thompson said. "I was excited. Your adrenaline pumps. He robbed a bank, he menaced my employees — and I don't allow that," said Thompson, a life member of the National Rifle Association who proudly supports conceal-carry laws.

When he got home Tuesday night, his wife ordered him a "victory pizza. " He was so giddy from nabbing the bandit that he didn't get to sleep until about 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Thompson, who was born and raised in Lincoln County, has been with the bank 36 years. It is a family-operated business. He started as a bookkeeper in 1978 and was promoted to president about nine years ago. He was mowing the grass at the bank when he was 8 years old and his father ran the bank. His father is now 82 years old and is chairman of the board. This is the first bank robbery in Thompson's tenure. There was a robbery in the 1930s, he said. As the story goes, the two brothers who robbed the bank were caught by police and served their time. When they were released from prison, "they came back to their hometown and became fairly responsible citizens and customers of the bank."

Thompson said, "If this guy (from Tuesday's robbery) wants to serve his time and come back, I can't say I wouldn't let him be a customer."

Edited October 31, 2012 by wipfel

[Guest 6.8 AR]

That's a great ending. I applaud that man!

[RobertNashville]

Humm...I'm not sure I agree with the bank president's actions in this case. I know it ended well and I know stories like this tend to make us feel good because the good guys won/bad guys lost but I'm sitting here wondering...was it really worth the bank pres risking his life to stop a thief from taking money that wasn't even his personal property?

What if this thief did have a real gun...what if the thief had an accomplice that wasn't immediately apparent...what if some totally innocent person happened to be walking by at that instant??? I'm remembering a football truism...only three things can happen when you throw the football and two of them are bad.

I suppose what I'm saying is that when it's clear that your life is being threatened I've no problem responding with as much deadly force as I can muster...when it's property, I think the decision becomes a lot less clear for me and especially so when it's not even my property that's being stolen. Every situation is different and must be decided in seconds - maybe I would have done the exact same thing had I been the bank president but even if I had, I'm still not sure it was the best decision to make.

Edited October 31, 2012 by RobertNashville

[UncleJak]

Was it stupid?, yes. Did it work?, yes. Would I do the same?, yes.

I hate a thief!

[mikegideon]

"You don't want to go there," Thompson implored. "This will end badly. I can break a tooth with this .380"

[Makiaveli]

"You don't want to go there," Thompson implored. "This will end badly. I can break a tooth with this .380"

And we all know what dental work costs these days!!!

[Guest carter]

I wander if that bank had a gun buster sign up like Regions does... ? Also...if youhave a gun buster sign up... and you carry like this man did just becauze he worked there... is it illegal? alwalys baffled me... last Xmas i went into one of the cash for gold places in murfreesboro... they had a gun buster sign up... and there was a guy behind the counter with a carry permit badge around his neck... i was carriing my G-19 concealed of course and he didnt say a word to me... i might swing by there again to see if hes still there... if so they are breaking all kinds of rules i think...

[JayC]

I wander if that bank had a gun buster sign up like Regions does... ? Also...if youhave a gun buster sign up... and you carry like this man did just becauze he worked there... is it illegal? alwalys baffled me... last Xmas i went into one of the cash for gold places in murfreesboro... they had a gun buster sign up... and there was a guy behind the counter with a carry permit badge around his neck... i was carriing my G-19 concealed of course and he didnt say a word to me... i might swing by there again to see if hes still there... if so they are breaking all kinds of rules i think...

Private property... they can prohibit you from carrying but allow their employees to carry. Also, if that is his place of business, then he doesn't need to a permit to carry there, and therefore 39-17-1359 doesn't impact him, since 1359 only prohibits permit holders from carrying past a sign.

I wouldn't do business with him, but just because somebody puts up a sign it doesn't mean the owner, manager, and their employees can't carry for protection.

[Q-tip]

The bank has a sign up welcoming CC...here's the link again, in case you want to read it this time.

http://www.stltoday....4baebc1539.html

Edited November 1, 2012 by Q-tip

[Guest PapaB]

[quote name='RobertNashville' timestamp='1351712969' post='836767']
Humm...I'm not sure I agree with the bank president's actions in this case. I know it ended well and I know stories like this tend to make us feel good because the good guys won/bad guys lost but I'm sitting here wondering...was it really worth the bank pres risking his life to stop a thief from taking money that wasn't even his personal property?

What if this thief did have a real gun...what if the thief had an accomplice that wasn't immediately apparent...what if some totally innocent person happened to be walking by at that instant??? I'm remembering a football truism...only three things can happen when you throw the football and two of them are bad.

I suppose what I'm saying is that when it's clear that your life is being threatened I've no problem responding with as much deadly force as I can muster...when it's property, I think the decision becomes a lot less clear for me and especially so when it's not even my property that's being stolen. Every situation is different and must be decided in seconds - maybe I would have done the exact same thing had I been the bank president but even if I had, I'm still not sure it was the best decision to make.
[/quote]

Sorry Robert but it's not just about whether it's his money on the line. I applaud the bank president for not letting the criminal get away with it. IMHO the bank president showed true courage and I wish there wasn't such a shortage of people like him in the world.

[RobertNashville]

[quote name='PapaB' timestamp='1351860795' post='837690']
Sorry Robert but it's not just about whether it's his money on the line. I applaud the bank president for not letting the criminal get away with it. IMHO the bank president showed true courage and I wish there wasn't such a shortage of people like him in the world.
[/quote]We'll just have to disagree I guess...wouldn't be the first time that's happened to me.

Courageous or not, without exigent circumstances, I believe it's stupid to put your life and, when in a public place such as where this happened, other people's lives (all "380 jokes aside), at risk to protect property (in this case money)...even more so when it's not even your money you are trying to protect.

To look at it another way, should an armed citizen be able to shoot and likely kill a thief if steeling is all he is in the process of doing? Are we in favor of capital punishment against someone whose only act was to steel $500K? If we aren't then by what right do we have to draw down on him? Should we ever draw our weapon if we don't have the legal and moral authority to discharge it? I say no, we should not and that is what I've been taught. Maybe that puts me in the minority but like the above, it wouldn't be the first time for that either!

Am I glad the dirt bag criminal was caught? Sure I am...the banker acted and it turned out the way we all want such things to turn out but that doesn't mean the actions of the banker were either brave or appropriate (or even legal in a lot of states and looking at Missouri law, which is where I think this happened, his actions probably weren't legal there even though I would be surprised if any charges were filed since he didn't actually discharge his weapon - had he actually fired I would bet real money he would be needing to raise money for his legal defense fund).

Edited November 2, 2012 by RobertNashville