Bank Robbery in Valparaiso - 03/04/2010

[rambone]

Serial bank robber strikes again in Valpo. I pass that bank every single day. What would you do if you were there?
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Valparaiso police say the suspect apprehended after a bank robbery Wednesday afternoon in Valparaiso is a serial robber who admitted to at least 10 other robberies in Northern Indiana and Michigan. Joseph Campbell, 35, of Elkhart was leaving Centier Bank at LaPorte Avenue and Silhavy Road after the robbery at 1:12 p.m. Wednesday when a dye pack discharged inside his car, sending red smoke swirling around inside the vehicle and seeping out of the windows, police said.
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Cops: Valpo bank robbery suspect robbed 11 banks

VALPARAISO | Valparaiso police say the suspect apprehended after a bank robbery Wednesday afternoon in Valparaiso is a serial robber who admitted to at least 10 other robberies in Northern Indiana and Michigan.

Joseph Campbell, 35, of Elkhart was leaving Centier Bank at LaPorte Avenue and Silhavy Road after the robbery at 1:12 p.m. Wednesday when a dye pack discharged inside his car, sending red smoke swirling around inside the vehicle and seeping out of the windows, police said.

Police said a motorist saw the dye-filled car leaving the bank and called 911 to report, "I think I'm following a bank robbery suspect."

The motorist followed the car for about a mile and told police the suspect turned into the Speedway station at U.S. 30 and Sturdy Road. Valparaiso police and Valparaiso University police converged on the gas station and apprehended Campbell.

Police said Campbell admitted he robbed the Centier branch and also committed 10 other robberies -- another one in Valparaiso, one in Chesterton, one in Hebron, one in Rensselaer, one in Warsaw, one in Plymouth and four in Michigan.

Campbell, who police say is being charged federally, is also being investigated in connection with at least a half dozen additional robberies to which he didn't immediately confess, according to police.

Police said Campbell stated he committed the robberies because he was unemployed and had a gambling problem.

Valparaiso Detective Sgt. Jeff Balon said Campbell picked banks randomly, but took some steps that he thought would help him avoid arrest.

"He wanted to stay away from Elkhart and go where he wouldn't be recognized," Balon said. "He liked to do banks that were busy and in congested areas so he wouldn't be conspicuous. He said if there was a bank out in the open, he wouldn't go to it."

Valparaiso police spokesman Sgt. Michael Grennes said the key to catching Campbell was the person who called police after seeing the dye pack filling Campbell's car with red dye.

"If it wasn't for the witness, this bank robbery may not have been solved," Grennes said.

"He did a great job by getting involved safely and helping us solve 11 bank robberies."

Police said they recovered the dye-stained money taken during Wednesday's robbery and some additional money. Police said they executed search warrants on his car and home in an effort to recover evidence from the robberies.

The Porter County robberies to which Campbell has been linked are Wednesday's robbery at Centier; the Jan. 12 robbery at Chase Bank, 150 W. Indiana Ave., Chesterton; the Jan. 12 robbery at First Source Bank, 111 W. Sigler St., Hebron; and the Dec. 12 robbery at First Source Bank, 1806 E. Lincolnway, Valparaiso.

 

[Digital_photog]

Same guy suspected in the robbery of the bank my wife works for on tuesday.

Suspect held in Warsaw_ other bank robberies | The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.

 

[E5RANGER375]

What would you do if you were there?

depends if he had a gun and was threatening people. if so then no dye packs would have exploded in his car and it would have been "clean up in teller window #3 please" i will say that much.

 

[Greenmonsta79]

.40 to the dome (too bright can't see.. must regain visual!)

 

[Andre46996]

What would I do??

If he was not threatening anybodies safety or mine not a thing, I would be the best witness I would have committed all details to memory and gave it to the police.

It is not my responsibility to protect the bank's money, I will protect a life but not money! They have insurance.

 

[DoctorJ32174]

Be realistic, guys. If he threatens you or others with deadly force, you can defend yourself with deadly force. Vigilantyism is dead in Indiana.

 

[E5RANGER375]

What would I do??

If he was not threatening anybodies safety or mine not a thing, I would be the best witness I would have committed all details to memory and gave it to the police.

It is not my responsibility to protect the bank's money, I will protect a life but not money! They have insurance.

yep!! good post. thats what i was basicly saying but i went the other way with my scenario

 

[E5RANGER375]

Be realistic, guys. If he threatens you or others with deadly force, you can defend yourself with deadly force. Vigilantyism is dead in Indiana.

who wasnt being realistic and being a vigilanty??? i dont understand your post?

 

[Ness2k]

That Centier bank is less than 1/4 mile from my house. And the Speedway is less than a mile.

I can't say I moved to Valpo because it's a peaceful, quiet town, but I can say I things like this justify why I carry.

 

[ATM]

If I had been there he probably would have left.

 

[USMC_0311]

If I had been there he probably would have left.

I see where you are going there.

 

[ABCIndy]

Yup, money is insured. No threat, no reaction for me. Don't know when you could change the circumstances. Only my opinion though.

My wife was a tell years ago when 4 guys ran in wearing ski masks. 1 held a gun in a tellers face while the other 4 ran through and filled duffle bags. No harm done to anyone, but that teller never went back to work and went through therepy for a long time. They were also suspects in several robberies through the area. Don't know if they were ever caught.

ABC

 

[ATM]

I see where you are going there.

No, seriously, that guy owes me $20.

 

[UltraRick]

Be a good witness unless he was threatening me or mine.

 

[Glock21]

Guess that'll teach him to bring his own bag next time.

 

[PatriotPride]

I drive by that bank every day. I closed my account there a few years back. What an idiot. I thought everyone knew about dye packs. And who robs a bank at ~1pm?

 

[patton487]

A guy robbed the bank that I bank at at around 130pm in the afternoon on a Friday about a month ago. I wasn't there.

Strange thing is that a buddy who is local LE told me that the response time of the police was less than 40 seconds. And the guy makes a clean get away, ON FOOT! This is a small town I'm talking about. Less than 2500 people. The police dept. is less than one mile away. I guess he was a fast runner!

Anyway, had I been there, I would do nothing unless someones life was threatened. I don't have that much money in there anyway!

 

[LCSOSgt11]

Who knows what a bank robber looks like anyway??? They certainly don't wear the black and white striped outfits of cartoon fame. It is certainly possible that this guy was a "note" robber, he passes a note indicating the robbery, and the $$$ is turned over to him without so much as a "by your leave."

Usually these type robbers don't want to be noticed, they come and go similar to other bank customers, only that they don't have an account to draw from. It is entirely possible that he may have approached the teller window, got the loot and walked out, appearing like any other "customer."

I would suggest that the "dye pack" be loaded with an appropriate charge of C-4, for better results.

I would agree, if this bad guy did not present a threat, being a better witness would probably be the better choice.

The amount of robberies that this guy did indicates to me that he is an accomplished felon, and also that he has walked in and out of many banks without initially raising "alarums and excursions" so that he could "exit stage right" without coming into contact with the local gendarmes.

Looks like he screwed the pooch on this one.

 

[PatriotPride]

C-4? I like it!

 

[Z-Glock23]

Haha C-4, what a great idea! As for me, like most have said, I would have been a good witness unless my life or someone else's life was in danger. Then he probably wouldn't have been leaving the bank on his feet....