Tip helps law agencies thwart planned robbery

Time and again, when told that publishing lists of gun owners (CHL-holders) would provide criminals lists of homes from which to steal guns, or would let potential attackers know who isn't able to defend themselves, the media responded by saying that criminals just weren't smart enough to utilize the newspaper to premeditate their crimes or select their targets.

The Akron Beacon Journal has called it a "flimsy presumption", and Gannett News Columbus Bureau Chief Jim Siegel said warnings about the dangers of publishing the list of CHL-holders "elevate these criminals to a level of sophistication they very likely do not possess..." Even Attorney General Jim Petro called such a scenario "a stretch".

The Fremont News-Messenger is reporting that, after receiving a tip from an informant, detectives from the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office worked with detectives from the Fremont Police Department and arrested two men early Saturday morning who were accused of planning to rob a manager at Domino's when he made a bank deposit.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for the story.

From the story:

According to a report by the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office, Detectives Jim Consolo and Kyle Overmyer received a tip that two men were planning to rob the manager of Domino's Pizza, 1315 W. State St., when he went to make a deposit at KeyBank, 1215 Oak Harbor Road.

One of the suspects, Jamie Gibson, 24, of 1131 1/2 Western Ave., Fremont, was a delivery man at Domino's and knew the manager's routine. Gibson, and Derek Davis, 21, also of 1131 1/2 Western Ave., planned to wait outside the bank and strike the manager with a metal pipe when he made the deposit. Gibson was planning to be the lookout, the suspects used a two-way radio walkie talkie to communicate.

According to the newspaper, the detectives began surveillance of the suspects and obtained recorded conversations in which the suspects discussed the robbery. The Fremont police were notified, since the store and bank are in city limits, and the Domino's manager was notified about the plan.

The night the incident was planned, detectives changed clothes and posed as the Domino's manager and an employee, while other officers staked out the area near the bank. About 1 a.m. Saturday, the suspects were seen dressed in dark clothes hiding by the side of the bank.

When the detectives appeared at the deposit point, police intercepted radio transmissions from the Davis and Gibson showing they were confused about whether the Domino's manager was the right person. Davis then fled on foot. Because he was still holding the metal pipe, he was subdued and taken into custody. Gibson fled in a vehicle but was apprehended by Detective T.J. Woolf of the Fremont Police Department. Gibson said another vehicle was also nearby that would have been used as a getaway vehicle.

The News-Messenger reports that the suspects admitted to planning the robbery. Davis was charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery, and Gibson was charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery, possession of criminal tools and tampering with evidence.