LevelFive
11th Aug 2001, 02:48
<A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/08/10/MN141108.DTL" TARGET=_blank>Air traffic controller held as 'robust robber'
$130,000 salary wasn't enough, he told cops</A>
Police who were on the hunt for a man who robbed at least nine banks in the East Bay were stunned to learn that the man who was arrested for the crimes is a well-respected air traffic controller at San Francisco International Airport who had been having financial difficulties.
Rick Lee Davis, 43, of San Francisco, appeared in U.S. District Court this morning for a detention hearing and to have a lawyer appointed to his case. Davis, who earned $130,000 a year, was arrested last week after an off-duty Concord police officer witnessed him allegedly rob a Bank of America in Concord.
Davis admitted the robbery to detectives and confessed to at least eight other robberies in Alameda County, said Concord police detective Mike Finney.
The robber in those cases was often referred to as the "robust robber" because of his stocky build. Davis is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and heavyset.
"He was having a lot of financial difficulties and couldn't make ends meet, " Finney said. "He's sorry he did it but he's also very sorry he got caught."
FBI spokesman Andrew Black said veteran agents were surprised to hear who their suspect turned out to be.
"This is the furthest from the classic bank robber profile I have ever seen, " said Black. "Usually these people are desperate substance abusers or alcoholics from the street. This guy appeared to have it all together."
Airport spokesman Mike McCarron said Davis has been working as an air traffic controller at SFO since 1998 after leaving a similar job in Hawaii.
He has worked for the Federal Aviation Administration since 1986 and is also the local president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union representing the tower's 50 FAA employees, McCarron said.
Since his arrest, Davis has been using planned vacation days while in jail, McCarron said. Union officials are meeting with officials to determine what action to take, McCarron said.
Just last week, Davis spoke to about 300 people at the College of San Mateo during a hearing on SFO's hotly debated plans to expand its runways by filling in a portion of San Francisco Bay.
"Everyone I talked to who knows him said he was a nice guy and good to work with," McCarron said. "Everyone's pretty stunned and amazed that this has happened."
The FBI alleges Davis has robbed nine banks since October 17, 2000, with the first eight in Fremont, Newark and Union City. He could face 180 years in prison if convicted.
Davis was arrested last Friday afternoon outside the Bank of America branch in the Sunvalley Mall after he was followed out by off-duty Concord police detective David Espinosa, who was at the bank doing business, Finney said.
Espinosa became suspicious of Davis because he was fidgeting in line and wearing a long-sleeve shirt, a hat and sunglasses, Finney said. Espinosa watched Davis approach the teller with a bag in his hand and hand her a note, Finney said.
"(Espinosa) was watching the teller and he sees the teller's eyes go wide and a bag on the counter," Finney said. "The teller starts putting money in the bag and so he followed him out."
Espinosa followed Davis out to a parking lot and saw him remove a shopping bag covering his license plate and ordered him to lie down on the ground at gunpoint. Davis did not resist arrest and was not armed, Finney said.
Police said Davis admitted to the robberies during an interrogation, telling detectives that he had been having financial problems because of a 1999 bankruptcy and child support payments to his ex-wife and children who still lived in Hawaii.
Davis told detectives that he used some of the estimated $60,000 that he had stolen to pay for airline tickets for his children to visit him, Finney said.
"He didn't want anybody to know that he wasn't doing well and he put on a show every time (his children would) come visit him and he needed money to do that," Finney said.
Finney said most bank robbers have a criminal past, and that Davis did not fit the profile of a typical bank robber.
"This guy was just doing it because he had a financial situation," Finney said. "He's just doing it because he's not managing his money well enough. That's unique."
$130,000 salary wasn't enough, he told cops</A>
Police who were on the hunt for a man who robbed at least nine banks in the East Bay were stunned to learn that the man who was arrested for the crimes is a well-respected air traffic controller at San Francisco International Airport who had been having financial difficulties.
Rick Lee Davis, 43, of San Francisco, appeared in U.S. District Court this morning for a detention hearing and to have a lawyer appointed to his case. Davis, who earned $130,000 a year, was arrested last week after an off-duty Concord police officer witnessed him allegedly rob a Bank of America in Concord.
Davis admitted the robbery to detectives and confessed to at least eight other robberies in Alameda County, said Concord police detective Mike Finney.
The robber in those cases was often referred to as the "robust robber" because of his stocky build. Davis is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and heavyset.
"He was having a lot of financial difficulties and couldn't make ends meet, " Finney said. "He's sorry he did it but he's also very sorry he got caught."
FBI spokesman Andrew Black said veteran agents were surprised to hear who their suspect turned out to be.
"This is the furthest from the classic bank robber profile I have ever seen, " said Black. "Usually these people are desperate substance abusers or alcoholics from the street. This guy appeared to have it all together."
Airport spokesman Mike McCarron said Davis has been working as an air traffic controller at SFO since 1998 after leaving a similar job in Hawaii.
He has worked for the Federal Aviation Administration since 1986 and is also the local president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union representing the tower's 50 FAA employees, McCarron said.
Since his arrest, Davis has been using planned vacation days while in jail, McCarron said. Union officials are meeting with officials to determine what action to take, McCarron said.
Just last week, Davis spoke to about 300 people at the College of San Mateo during a hearing on SFO's hotly debated plans to expand its runways by filling in a portion of San Francisco Bay.
"Everyone I talked to who knows him said he was a nice guy and good to work with," McCarron said. "Everyone's pretty stunned and amazed that this has happened."
The FBI alleges Davis has robbed nine banks since October 17, 2000, with the first eight in Fremont, Newark and Union City. He could face 180 years in prison if convicted.
Davis was arrested last Friday afternoon outside the Bank of America branch in the Sunvalley Mall after he was followed out by off-duty Concord police detective David Espinosa, who was at the bank doing business, Finney said.
Espinosa became suspicious of Davis because he was fidgeting in line and wearing a long-sleeve shirt, a hat and sunglasses, Finney said. Espinosa watched Davis approach the teller with a bag in his hand and hand her a note, Finney said.
"(Espinosa) was watching the teller and he sees the teller's eyes go wide and a bag on the counter," Finney said. "The teller starts putting money in the bag and so he followed him out."
Espinosa followed Davis out to a parking lot and saw him remove a shopping bag covering his license plate and ordered him to lie down on the ground at gunpoint. Davis did not resist arrest and was not armed, Finney said.
Police said Davis admitted to the robberies during an interrogation, telling detectives that he had been having financial problems because of a 1999 bankruptcy and child support payments to his ex-wife and children who still lived in Hawaii.
Davis told detectives that he used some of the estimated $60,000 that he had stolen to pay for airline tickets for his children to visit him, Finney said.
"He didn't want anybody to know that he wasn't doing well and he put on a show every time (his children would) come visit him and he needed money to do that," Finney said.
Finney said most bank robbers have a criminal past, and that Davis did not fit the profile of a typical bank robber.
"This guy was just doing it because he had a financial situation," Finney said. "He's just doing it because he's not managing his money well enough. That's unique."