MARION, Ind.—Five would-be credit union robbers were thwarted by the FBI, which had been tailing them and had CU employees lock the building before the robbers could get inside, according to newly unsealed court documents.
WANE reported that members of the FBI Fort Wayne Safe Streets Task Force had been watching the five suspects drive from the Southbridge Apartments on the southeast side of Fort Wayne to Via Credit Union, just off I-69 in Marion. The suspects apparently cased the building, then drove back to Fort Wayne, WANE reported.
On July 3, the officers tailed the five suspects again, but this time called ahead to the credit union and told them to leave the “open” sign on the front door, keep their cars parked in their normal spots, and lock the doors.
Just before 10 a.m. four of the five men drove up to the credit union while the fifth suspect waited in a different vehicle at a nearby gas station, according to court documents and WANE. Agents said the four men got out of the vehicle and tried to enter the credit union, but it was locked. No one was in the building.
WANE said the criminal complaint states that the suspects then got back in their vehicle and began to drive off before being stopped by police. One officer reported seeing one of the suspects remove his mask. Authorities said they found zip ties, masks, and a loaded semi-automatic gun in the vehicle.
The fifth suspect, Autumn Carter, 21, was arrested in a separate vehicle. WANE said Carter admitted to police that the four men were going to rob the credit union and she was supposed to follow their vehicle, according to court documents. Arrested were:
- Freddie Lee Church, Jr., 38
- Christian Smith, 18
- Tyler McCarthy, 19
- Shaiki Sutton, 21