Home Invaders Search for Gold

Bonedigger · 01-30-2008, 02:45 PM

As if you didn't already know, there are some dangerous people out there and they will lurk where you post with friends. Be careful in what you say, it may prove to be fatal...

Ben

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008...more_home.html
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Search continues for more home invasion suspects
Posted by By Terry Judd | The Muskegon Chronicle January 29, 2008 22:45PM
Categories: Spring Lake
Ottawa County Sheriff's Department investigators were continuing their search for at least one other person involved in last Saturday's botched robbery of a Spring Lake Township gold and coin broker.

Authorities are trying to determine whether there is a link between the victim and Lafayette, Ind., the address of a captured suspect.

Sheriff's Department Lt. Mark Bennett said his office has been in contact with Indiana law enforcement agencies to see whether Jeremy Lee Wilkinson, 29, of Lafayette had a prior business dealing or contact with the victim, ******* ****** ********* Palmatter operates Bob's Coins, which buys and sells gold and silver coins.

Wilkinson is one of at least two individuals who invaded Palmatter's home Saturday night and forced the homeowner to give combinations and open two safes inside the residence. Wilkinson unsuccessfully tried to run from responding officers and was caught after spending about four hours barefoot on Lake Michigan ice. He suffered severe frostbite and hypothermia and was briefly hospitalized.

He was arraigned Monday on five felonies: armed robbery carrying a potential life sentence; first degree home invasion, a 20-year felony; unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony; resisting, obstructing and running away from a police officer, a two-year felony; and possessing a firearm during a felony, a two-year felony. Bond was set at $100,000 cash or surety.

Wilkinson had a prior 1997 cocaine possession conviction in Indiana, officials said.

Bennett said evidence indicates the suspects knew of Palmatter's business and specifically targeted his house. He said detectives are poring over Palmatter's business records to see whether there is a link to Wilkinson or Lafayette, Ind. They also have search warrants on phone records.

"For a prudent person, they (the suspects) obviously knew something about the victim before they did it," Bennett said. "It does not appear to be a totally random event."

A big question facing investigators is how Wilkinson and at least one other person knew about Palmatter's business and where he lived. Others involved with the investigation said Palmatter was careful to disassociate his home address from his business.

But on the night of the failed robbery, the suspects waited for Palmatter to return home and one specifically asked him "Are you Bob?" when he was confronted after leaving his car.

Bennett said Wilkinson has not cooperated with investigators. Wilkinson's identity was confirmed only after the department conducted a nationwide finger print search.

Officials believe the second suspect has fled the area, but do not have any possible names or addresses. There also is a possibility others also were involved.

"Mr. Wilkinson has not been particularly cooperative at this point," he said.

Saturday's unusual attempted robbery began at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, when Palmatter and his wife, Leda, returned from a gold and coin buying trip. As he exited his car in the garage and approached the back door, he was approached by a man who asked him whether he was Bob, was forced to open the door and was sprayed his face with pepper spray. The intruder apparently was unaware Palmatter's wife was in the car.

Once inside the home, Palmatter's hands were bound with electric wire bundling strips. A second person entered the home and the two led Palmatter to a room containing two safes. He was ordered to give up the combinations and the two successfully opened one safe but found only business papers.

They then unsuccessfully attempted to open another safe. Eventually, they freed Palmatter's hands and had him open the safe, which contained coins. As they rummaged through the safe, the home owner snuck into another room, where he tried to call for help but the phones were dead.

He quickly was discovered by the two intruders and sprayed again with pepper spray and knocked to the ground. Palmatter was then stepped on and kicked in the head, breaking one of his teeth.

In the meantime, Palmatter's' wife called 9-1-1 on a cell phone and escaped out the garage. She was met in the driveway by responding Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Police officers. Wilkinson unsuccessfully tried to drive off in Palmatter's car but was stopped by sheriff's deputies. He then fled from the vehicle up the Palmatter driveway. As deputies pursued, Wilkinson allegedly fired a small caliber handgun and ran to ice on Lake Michigan, according to police.

Wilkinson hid out on the ice for almost four hours before he was found by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. He surrendered after discarding the weapon into Lake Michigan. He was treated for severe frostbite to his feet and hypothermia. Officials said the suspect's kidneys were partially shut down because of hypothermia and that he would have lost his toes had he remained out on the ice any longer.

Officials do not know why the man was barefoot, but suspect he might have lost his boots while running from deputies.
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One harrowing experience...

**Peter T Davis** · 01-30-2008, 03:08 PM

I say they should have left him out on the ice for a bit longer. They didn't have to hunt for him so hard.

Bonedigger · 01-30-2008, 03:10 PM

They should put him back out on the ice until he reveals who the accomplice was...

Ben

AdamL · 01-30-2008, 03:09 PM

I love the part about the intruder getting frostbite and hypothermia.

mbynack · 01-30-2008, 03:34 PM

As they rummaged through the safe, the home owner snuck into another room, where he tried to call for help but the phones were dead.

Too bad he didn't have a 357 Magnum stashed in the other room instead of a dead phone.

bajablu · 01-30-2008, 04:44 PM

buy the book first, gun second, ammo third, coin fourth. shoot first cover up later.

they should put this guy under the ice. i hate scumbags like this. anyone i dont know comes to my house, i answer the door wiht 3 things, my gun, my cell, and my pitbull.anyone brave enoughi welcome to try. what scumbags these lowlifes are.

i hate em , i hate em, i hate em.

indianhead · 01-30-2008, 04:53 PM

If someone would manage to break into my house and attempt to rob me and then flee, I would like the police to bring the robber back to my house for a good A@@ kicking whether he had frostbite or not. They should have left him out there on the lake to freeze.

MaryannGR · 01-30-2008, 04:56 PM

Ben, thanks for posting the article from the Chronicle to make others aware. Would you mind removing the address -- so as not to give others any ideas? (Am working with the newspaper to get that to happen, too.)

Bonedigger · 01-30-2008, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaryannGR

Ben, thanks for posting the article from the Chronicle to make others aware. Would you mind removing the address -- so as not to give others any ideas? (Am working with the newspaper to get that to happen, too.)

My Bad, certainly... BTW, Greetings and Welcome to the forum.

Take Care
Ben

MaryannGR · 01-30-2008, 05:30 PM

Thank you SO much for the quick response -- would that the media were as reasonable as you. (And nice to be here.)

Bonedigger · 01-30-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaryannGR

Thank you SO much for the quick response -- would that the media were as reasonable as you. (And nice to be here.)

I posted a response to the NewsPaper asking to have the address removed as well. This topic has been discussed here before. Without a doubt, a persons home address should remain hidden in this hobby/business... I apologize for not catching that in the OP.

Take Care
Ben

MaryannGR · 01-30-2008, 05:39 PM

That is great -- and above and beyond. If others want to do so, it certainly wouldn't hurt. Sometimes the media doesn't think through what they are doing. The address adds nothing at all to the story -- except danger to the family.

**Daggarjon** · 01-30-2008, 09:30 PM

forget about losing both feet ... send him on the ice in a heated ice shanty. only thing is with this shanty - no doors. eventually the ice must melt!!!!

clembo · 01-30-2008, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daggarjon

forget about losing both feet ... send him on the ice in a heated ice shanty. only thing is with this shanty - no doors. eventually the ice must melt!!!!

Only problem with that is that in the spring someone may find his rotted, bloated corpse. Now if we had some bricks....

Hobo · 02-07-2008, 05:51 AM

This is a real shame. This coin dealer is quitting the business AND the hobby. I can't blame him. Who wants a job or a hobby that can get you killed?

SL coin dealer quits business, home after attack

Quote:

Robert Palmatter's passion for coin collecting first began in grade school when he gathered and cataloged coins as a hobby.

It reignited with a new intensity in 1987 when he went along with his nephew to a coin store to advise the boy; and the next thing he knew, he was coin collecting and soon was a coin dealer.

"I call it the collector gene; you're either born with it or not," he said. "There is no explaining it."

That all changed Jan. 26.

That was night Palmatter was attacked by at least two robbers who had targeted him and his coin collection as he returned to his home in an exclusive neighborhood in Spring Lake Township.

Palmatter was doused with pepper spray, bound, kicked in the head and forced to give combinations to two safes. His wife, Lena, fortunately was not spotted by the assailants as she remained in a car parked in their garage and eventually was able to flee the scene to call for help.

One of the alleged assailants, Jeremy Lee Wilkinson, 29, of Lafayette, Ind., was captured after running through snow-covered woods and hiding out barefoot on Lake Michigan ice for four hours, nearly at the cost of his toes.

He was arraigned last week for armed robbery, first-degree home invasion, unlawful imprisonment, resisting, obstructing and running away from a police officer and possessing a firearm during a felony. Bond was set at $1 million.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Department is looking for at least one other suspect who fled from Palmatter's home. An escape vehicle with an Indiana license plate was found in Ferrysburg three days later.

No more arrests have been made.

Based upon evidence collected to date, sheriff's officials believe the assailants specifically targeted Palmatter, a nationally known registered coin expert, and knew he had a coin collection.

The violent experience almost two weeks ago has been emotionally devastating for Palmatter and his wife, Lena, who feared for their lives and had the sanctity of their home violated.

Palmatter suffered a minor concussion, temporary double-vision and had several teeth chipped from being kicked in the head. He has difficulty talking about the night of his attack, particularly the moments when he did not know whether his wife was safe.

The robbery also focused unwanted public attention on the Palmatters, who for years had tried to be "discreet" about the coin collections business out of fear they could be robbed.

"We worked very hard at being nondescript by the very nature of the business," he said. "That has changed now."

Even though collecting is his passion, Palmatter said he is getting out of the coin-collecting hobby and business. Since the robbery, Palmatter has removed his entire coin collection and both safes from his home and is in the process of selling off the entire inventory.

Palmatter also is disbanding and liquidating his coin dealer business. In addition, a state-of-the-art security system has been installed in his home.
"I can't stress enough that all of the inventory has been removed from the house. There is nothing there," he said. "I'm going forward and liquidating all of the coins and I will not be purchasing new coins."

Palmatter said he had no choice after what happened on Jan. 26. It was around 5:30 p.m. when he and his wife drove into their garage and sat briefly in their car while saying a prayer of thanks for their safe return from a buying trip.

Palmatter said he opened the back door of the house while his wife was preparing to exit the car. He walked into the home and was confronted by a man exiting a bathroom who immediately sprayed pepper spray into his face.

The attack came so quickly, Palmatter did not get a good look at his assailant. He was dragged back into the garage, ordered onto the floor and had his hands bound behind his back with electrical tie wrap. His wife, seeing her husband in trouble, remained hidden in the car.

"I was asked who I was, then was pulled into the area where the safes were," he said.

Once near the safes, Palmatter's feet were bound and he was ordered to give the attacker the combinations to the two safes. After struggling with the combinations for several minutes, the intruder was able to open one safe but found only business papers. The assailant then radioed "for back-up," Palmatter said.

Although he remained blinded by the pepper spray, Palmatter believes another intruder entered the room and they unsuccessfully tried to open the second safe. They then freed Palmatter's hands so he could demonstrate the combination sequence even though he could not see.

Once the safe was opened, Palmatter was bound again and shoved to the side. He lay still and soon the house was quiet. Believing the house was empty, Palmatter managed to wiggle out of the bindings and get to a telephone to call for help.

But when he picked up the receiver, the phone was dead. As he went back to the area of the safes, he was discovered by the robbers and rebound with tie wraps.

When they saw the telephone receiver off the hook, they kicked Palmatter in the head as punishment and sprayed him again. Palmatter said he waited on the floor a longer time and eventually freed his hands and feet.

He then blindly proceeded to the garage in an effort to get to a neighbor's house. But when he got into the garage and squinted one eye open, his heart sank -- the car his wife was last seen in was gone.

Palmatter said he feared his wife had been kidnapped and he frantically exited the garage and started running down his driveway. He then heard someone yell, "Get down."

"I stopped and got down and said, 'Who are you?' because I did not know if it was the burglars or police," he said.

Palmatter said he was then was told to get up and walk down to the end of the driveway with his hands in the air. He did not know it was the police until he was handcuffed and told to run away from the home with an officer.

"I kept asking them where my wife was, but got no answer. But when we got to the (police) car, I heard her voice. I heard her voice and knew she was OK," he said, choking up. "She was OK!"

Palmatter praised the response by area law enforcement officers and the work done to date by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department.

In the meantime, he and his wife are trying to get their lives together but acknowledges they have not spent a night in the home since the robbery because of damage done to the house and to their sense of security.

"If you were to see our home, you would understand why we have not wanted to return," he said.

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