The Trenchcoat Bank Robbers, William Kirkpatrick and Ray Bowman, were believed to have robbed around 28 banks within 15 years, all without ever leaving a fingerprint behind.
In 1997, they pulled off the largest bank robbery in US history. They stole $4,461,681 from the Washington Bank, hauling the cash out in bags weighing 161 kilograms.
Former detective Jeffery Lanza said the pair planned their heists very carefully. The duo targeted banks far from police stations, and also only made their move when they knew the vaults were open.
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“They were great at what they did. They were the most prolific bank robbers in the history of the United States. And they knew what they were doing.”
“We’re not talking about teller drawers with a couple thousand dollars. We’re talking about getting into the vault and taking hundreds of thousands, even millions in a couple of cases.
They told everyone, ‘Don’t do anything, and no one’s going to get hurt’,” Lanza said.
Crime Insiders | Detectives host Brent Sanders asked, “Do you know what actually led to their arrest? Were they caught in that sort of movie-style moment, walking out in disguise with the bags, with the money insignias on them, or how did they get done in the end?”
Find out how a simple mistake finally caught the most prolific US bank robbers on this episode of the Crime Insiders podcast.
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