He attended the big Los Angeles premiere and enjoyed being a part of it. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. FINANCE. "I was dumb," Ghantt said Wednesday, the eve before the movie hits screens nationwide. CHARLOTTE Tuesday marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history, and it all went down in Charlotte. Probably very egotistical of me, I though yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. $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. 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. . Authorities said they hired a man named Michael McKinney to meet up with Ghantt and kill him, under the guise that he was planning to give Ghantt more of the money he was owed. The plot revolves around Ghantt who teamed up with his former loomis co-worker Kelly Campbell. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. Michelle Chambers received a few more months than Ghantt, because she had violated several bond conditions. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. He was like OK, yeah, we can do that, she recalled. . Within a few months, they were arrested. The events that led to the Loomis Fargo heist started with Ghantt entering a relationship with fellow employee Kelly Campbell. Required fields are marked *. ", GREENSBORO Jurors found TikTok star Jessica Middlebrook, known as towtruckjess on social media, not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thu. He has been open about what he did and how he believes it changed him for the better. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the second biggest cash heist in U.S. history, fleeing with more than . The Loomis Fargo heist happened in Charlotte, North Carolina when this bank was the target of a robbery. Despite working for a company that regularly relocates millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. Elizabeth Holmes has second child, seeks to delay prison Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her husband. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. He was also married, but none of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. In his hurry, Ghantt had simply overlooked the third security camera. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation. Later, DePriest would learn through Diamants reporting for his book that Ghantt was terrified of being followed in Mexico, always looking over his shoulder and sitting near the exit in restaurants. Ghantt went on to explain that he left for his flight to Mexico with about $25,000, and that two or three deliveries of extra money was made to him by the man Chambers would pay to kill him. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. He needed more money, consequently, he called up Chambers and asked him to wire him some. I found the young woman who worked as a hotel receptionist and remembered many details about Ghantt: how he stayed in Room 101 eating M&Ms, chain-smoking Marlboro Lights, reading Superman comics and listening to the Eagles, DePriest wrote. Bank heists are ideally supposed to have meticulous planning right? But former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt can. He talks about how he informs employers about his criminal . Steve Chambers would keep the rest. } Diamant captures the human side of the crime as well as the bizarre details, including a clown-faced lava lamp. 25 years later David Ghantt took $50,000 for himself . From my standpoint it was just a business deal, Ghantt said. More than 20 people ended up in the FBI's dragnet. Actor Owen Wilson plays him in the movie, which includes the real names of all the major players. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. ``None of these defendants , in this court's opinion, are capable of making substantial restitution, no matter what they do, or no matter what they try,' Mullen said. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { The judge said he would recommend that Michele Chambers be given mental health treatment in prison. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. This caused them just to leave the cash they could not take with them in the back of the van. 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. Finally, despite a few hiccups, Ghantt successfully made his way to Mexico with $50,000 in hand. David Ghantt : Yeah. Not a documentary. Nathan, Steves cousin, was found in a mobile home the Chambers had abandoned. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. 2021 museumfacts.co.uk | All rights reserved. Despite being caught on camera wheeling the money from the vault to the getaway van, David Ghantt . I wanted to get as far away as I could. Several cars and nine safety deposit boxes were seized, authorities said. Ghantt was charged in connection with the robbery reported Oct. 5 at Loomis, Fargo & Co. Accompanying her . . After loading the massive cache of loot into the armored truck, Ghantt set the time lock on the vault, which locked the door for days unless the employees drilled through the lock. 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. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. 1998 The Associated Press. The plan was to maintain a low profile and wait for things to cool off, allowing Ghantt to return to the states and collect his cut. $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. The robbers left it behind as they simply didnt have room for all that cash. When Ghantt called Campbell asking for more money, a plan was set in motion to take him out. The judge said he doubted she would be able to pay the $4.8 million restitution, but said federal law required him to impose it. . A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. Investigators eventually connected Campbell and Chambers to the robbery, which led to the arrest of more than 20 people. 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. Additionally, all the stolen cash was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. David's crush and former co-worker, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig), approaches David about robbing the very company that he works for.Despite the lack of intelligence, Ghantt somehow pulls off the heist . Just days after agreeing to the plan, the group set a day to carry out the robbery. When did you conclude yeah Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. The main players had time to conspicuously spend some of their money and, in the case of David Scott Ghantt, the Loomis Fargo employee who removed the money from the vault, flee to Mexico. Along with Ghantt and Campbell, there were eight others, including Campbell's former high school friend Steve Chambers and his wife, Michelle. The man at the center of that heist was David Scott Ghantt. What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads Two days later, the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van. No hard feelings. And theres the story of then-Observer reporter Joe DePriests race to Mexico to catch Ghantt as he was getting arrested. 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. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. The only person not to plead guilty in the case, former Gastonia attorney Jeff Guller, ended up doing eight years for money laundering. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. Masterminds.2016.MULTi.1080p.BluRay.x264-CINeHD. Regular folks, big dreams and a ton of money: How the Loomis Fargo heist happened. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters is delivering the closing argument for the state, followed by defense attorney Jim Griffin who will deliver the closing argument for the defense. WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 1: When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later, ALSO READ: Trio charged following takeover-style bank robbery in South End, sources say, ALSO READ: Police: Suspect arrested in Rock Hill following bank robbery in northwest Charlotte, ALSO READ: Business owner says more than $100K in checks stolen, then forged and deposited, 13-year-old girl killed in crash involving tractor-trailer on I-485 in west Charlotte, police say, Tattooed arm of missing man found inside shark caught by fishermen, Shanquella Robinson case needing high-level diplomatic intervention, attorney says, Wells Fargo to close Charlotte-area branch, two others in NC in consolidation move, Murdaugh Trial, Day 27: Jury visits crime scene before closings at trial, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. It was committed by David Ghantt and the heist subsequently inspired the comedy movie Masterminds. Because Ghantt was the only employee who wasn't there that morning, he became the obvious suspect. 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. All rights reserved. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. 5 min read. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. Who all wanted a Rambo movie which explored his time training as a green beret and his time serving in Vietnam as a prequel to first blood WATCH Antebellum 2020 FULL MOVIE, Your email address will not be published. Kelly Campbell was another Loomis Fargo employee, and she and David Ghantt quickly established a relationship. Kelly Campbell: Oh, my gosh. Please subscribe to keep reading. But things didnt quite work out that way. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the second biggest cash heist in U.S. history, fleeing with more than $17 million in untraceable bills in 1997. He and his wife, Michelle, moved from their mobile home in Lincoln County to a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section of Cramerton. He has been open about the heist and his life and had no qualms about it. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. Did you get paid? After the Loomis Fargo heist, when the arrests were made, Ghantt and seven others pleaded guilty in federal court to the charges. Kelly Campbell, a former firm employee, pleaded guilty to bank larceny, money laundering, and murder conspiracy charges earlier this year. The FBI became more suspicious after they interviewed Campbell for the third time. I knew that if I did something like that, I would take a huge amount of money, Ghantt said of the brash robbery on an upcoming episode of, To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the, Rebel Wilson 'collapsed' after Ramona Agruma proposal: 'I was so overwhelmed', Amy Grant recalls being 'so scared' to return to touring following serious bike accident, Travis Scott being sought by NYPD after alleged nightclub assault, Zachary Levi talks Shazam! future after DC shake-up: 'I'll keep playing this role as long as I can', Get your Din Djarin on with this replica 'Mandalorian' helmet. Ghantt:It's a comedy. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. Campbell knew theyd need the help of the warehouses vault supervisor, who just happened to have a crush on her, and she called Ghantt to ask for his help. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. They had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. "I've moved on with my life," he said Tuesday. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. David Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. If I hadn't done what I did the, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. Defense lawyer Andy Culler sought a seven-year, three-month sentence. 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. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. However, he would leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. She recruited an old friend, Steve Chambers, a convicted criminal who was once an FBI informant. Meanwhile, Chambers would hold on to most of the cash and send Ghantt small amounts of money as and when required. 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 . The heist led to a book, TV specials, a major movie. On the evening ofOctober 4, 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Co branch in Charlotte, North Carolina was in the process of being plundered. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. When things calmed down, Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S., and the money was split up among all co-conspirators. David wrote her first book "Self-Awareness for Beginners" and now teaches courses and retreats on self-awareness. In this action comedy based on true events, David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis) discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. Shortly after, investigators found Ghantt's pickup truck abandoned at the warehouse. Ghantt:Since I still owe the federal government money I can't get paid. While Ghantt fled to Mexico, the others went no farther than Cramer Mountain. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. Agents found out where Ghantt was living because Chambers had put out a hit on him, foolishly believing Ghantt was the only person the FBI had fingered for the crime. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. . #7 Loomis Fargo, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1997 . In less than a month after the heist, Chambers and his wife moved out of their trailer and relocated into a 7,000-square-foot, $635,000 mansion. 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