kelly campbell and david ghantt

This opportunity was forged by Chambers and supported by Campbell earlier in the summer. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. The bandits had such a sudden influx of cash that they didnt know how to spend it. ``This defendant was second to Steve Chambers in (benefiting) from the crime,' he said. The Gaston Gazette interviewed Ghantt, whos now in his late 40s and living as a free man in Florida. 2023 Cox Media Group. When Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the following day, they called authorities, and the investigation was started. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. Some received probation for money laundering, many others did hard time. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed We were two paychecks away from being homeless at any given time.. He then took the security tapes and sped off in his getaway van. The FBI became more suspicious after they interviewed Campbell for the third time. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. ". In the first couple of weeks, they had heard both Steve and Shelley bragging about their new-found fortune, and spending remarkable amounts of money. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. As Ghantt was fed up with his underpaying job, he was receptive to the idea and the three started planning a heist. David Ghantt helps steal $17 million from Loomis Fargo mostly due to his love for Kelly Campbell, but the leader of the operation, Steve Chambers, wants to get rid of David for being a liability. As Ghantt was the only employee absent, he was marked as the obvious suspect. He left for the border, winding up at the popular Yucatan Peninsula resort island. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). He talks about how he informs employers about his criminal . He would leave most of the money with Campbell and share it evenly when he returned with Campbell to leave him enough money to live. Crimes, guns, suspensions and dropouts soar in NC public schools after the pandemic. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. David Ghantt struck up a friendship with Kelly Campbell, a coworker who saw eye to eye with him. The FBI investigation was able to connect Ghantt to Campbell quickly. The Loomis Fargo heist happened in Charlotte, North Carolina when this bank was the target of a robbery. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. All Rights Reserved. Besides wearing the ring, driving the BMW, and living in the new house, prosecutors say Michele Chambers helped others deposit millions of dollars in safe-deposit boxes in the area, and that she took $200,000 in cash into a Salisbury bank in November 1997 and came out with a $200,000 check. They swept the surrounding counties, locating Kelly Campbell and Eric Payne in their homes. During a layover in Florida, they learned that Ghantt was already on his way back to the U.S. with authorities, but they flew to Cancun anyway and rented a car to reach Playa del Carmen, a resort town. 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. 0:00. HOME. Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. Ghantt had worked with the branch since 1994, and had been promoted from a driver to the vault supervisor. Well, we bring to you a bank heist so ridiculous and poorly planned, that you will think I can plan a better heist!. 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. Michele Chambers' sentence was two months longer than that given to David Scott Ghantt, the Loomis employee who removed the money from the company vault on Oct. 4, 1997. They were the butt of a national joke. When to set your clocks for daylight saving time, A raw bar, Asian restaurant, ice cream shop and arcade debut at Concord food hall. The FBI says Chambers hired a hit man to tie up the ultimate loose end -- Ghantt. David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis) is slowly creeping by in life driving an armored truck.His life is at a stall and he's slowly dwindling down into the trash life that was destined for him. A connection between each suspect began to emerge slowly, and as the intensity of spending grew, suspicion did as well. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. When Ghantt was found in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, five months after the heist, DePriest and photographer Kent Johnson raced to the airport, according to Observer records. David Ghantt : Oh, Rio, yeah, yeah. The movie, about a famous Charlotte bank . The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. I felt stiff and one day the jokes during the break about the robbery of that place suddenly didn't look so obvious. The robbers left it behind as they simply didnt have room for all that cash. Loomis Fargo & Company was established in 1997 by the consolidation of Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc. Their plan was fairly straightforward: Ghantt was to remain in the vault after his shift on the night of the heist, October 4, 1997. He was doing what the rest of us were doing making bad decisions. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. Of course, I went on a spending spree. David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. 20 years ago, on the night of October 4, 1997, David Scott Ghantt loaded $17.3 million of cash from the bank vault in Charlotte, North Carolina he was employed to supervise into a van. But Ghantt, who served as an unpaid consultant to the movie and attended the big Los Angeles premiere earlier in the week, has no such reservations. I hope everyone has moved on. Whisler told the judge that the couple had searched for a new house before the theft, and that Michele Chambers bought rubber bands from Wal-Mart to count the money the night of the crime. 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. Campbell was receptive and brought the idea to Ghantt. But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. SEARCH. On the evening ofOctober 4, 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Co branch in Charlotte, North Carolina was in the process of being plundered. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her husband. "I've moved on with my life," he said Tuesday. No regrets. The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. They both made jokes about their work and how they would rather rob the place than continue with their underpaid job. The affidavit also cited telephone conversations between Steve Chambers and McKinney that indicated they may have been plotting Ghantt's murder in Mexico only days ago. The police, in turn, called the FBI since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. The only person not to plead guilty in the case, former Gastonia attorney Jeff Guller, ended up doing eight years for money laundering. Though she agreed to cooperate with the government when she pleaded guilty to bank larceny and money laundering in August 1998, Michele Chambers didn't tell the FBI she still had the ring until December, when she turned it in. display: block; A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. He wasnt just being paranoid. Before the robber left Loomis Fargo, he made a trip to the managers office to remove two surveillance tapes in order to conceal his identity. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { Kelly Campbell is scheduled to be sentenced in October. The man's famil, Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. FINANCE. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily . Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. The picture, which is directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, and Emily Spivey, stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and This former Kings Mountain resident finished his shift as a vault supervisor for the branch in Charlotte. David Scott Ghantt, 28, was arrested Sunday on an island off the Mexican coast, near the resort city of Cozumel, FBI spokesman William Perry said today. Probably very egotistical of me, I though yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. This had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers' and his wife's activities. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. . His partners, who planned to stay behind, agreed to send him his full cut of the money after the heat from investigators had died down. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. It took me going to prison to realize I was a bag of worms, and it took me years of work to be somebody worthy to come back into our society, he said. Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ While the FBI spent five months looking for David Scott Ghantt, authorities say his accomplices in a $17 million heist were living the high life _ a new car, a new home, even breast implants for one. The irony is that before the Loomis Fargo heist they had all agreed to keep their spending to a minimum. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. Your daily dose of History. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. David Ghantt worked as a vault supervisor for the armoured cash vehicles at the Charlotte, North Carolina branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. Ironically even though he worked for a company that moved millions of dollars every day, he was relatively underpaid. All rights reserved. Just outside of the building, David Ghantt met up with his girlfriend, Chambers, and others involved in the plot. David Scott Ghantt speaks with Channel 9's Glenn Counts 25 years after the robbery. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. David sneaks in and rescues Kelly. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." Question: You went to Mexico. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. Authorities began to hone in on the group and put a wire tap on Campbell's phones. }, First published on March 2, 1998 / 2:20 PM. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. Campbell helped plot the robbery of Loomis' Charlotte vault on Oct. "He quickly found out when you have money, you. At the time . Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. She's a great speaker and a great writer. However, he had not perceived the weight of a large sum of money. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. The friends and neighbors of Steve and Michelle Chambers became suspicious soon after the news broke that . Steve hires hitman Mike McKinney to kill David, but the two become friends. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. The events that led to the Loomis Fargo heist started with Ghantt entering a relationship with fellow employee Kelly Campbell. Needless to say that things didn't go as planned. After years of working hard, the realisation hit him that he was working 75-80 hrs a week for $8.15 an hour which left him feeling unhappy. Ghantt continued to languish in Mexico, having spent most of the $25,000 he took with him to a Cancun resort. 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