CASPER, Wyo.—A man who stole $48,000 from a credit union after guessing, in part, that the vault code was a simple 1-2-3-4-5-6, has been given a six-to-10-year suspended prison sentence, with six years of probation.
Kevin Walsh, 21, pleaded guilty to the crime after being arrested in 2014 for the crime, which was discovered after security camera footage was reviewed. As CUToday.info reported in February, Walsh used a combination of that lucky guess, plus experience having done odd jobs at Family First FCU to steal the money.
Walsh confessed to the crime during an interview with police, in which he explained that he had earlier stolen a key while doing odd jobs around the credit union. He broke into the credit union, turned away several security cameras (before turning them back to their original position prior to leaving), and was able to proceed without the alarm going off because, as was later discovered, a phone cable needed to transmit the alarm was missing, according to K2radio.com.
Walsh told police he knew the alarm code anyway from previous observations he had made at the credit union. K2radio.com said he told police that when it came to the vault, he had seen similar vaults at a job at which he worked that produced the vault lock device, where the manufacturer used a vault lock code of 1-2-3-4-5-6. Walsh said he used that code at the credit union, and the vault opened on the first try.
Family First FCU had not changed the code since obtaining the vault a decade earlier, K2radio.com reported. Walsh told police he had also kept his getaway vehicle running in neutral, because any other gear would have caused the headlights to automatically turn on.
Walsh, who became a suspect after spending $20,000 in cash on a vehicle, told police the remaining funds were hidden beneath his home, and have since been recovered.
Walsh was arrested after the FBI got involved following a tip that he was inquiring about purchasing a high priced car with cash.