Home Invaders Search for Gold

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/2008/01/search_continues_for_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...

 

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

 

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

Ben

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Please -- and thanks

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

 

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

 

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.

 

Like others have said. Should have left him on the ice at least until they were sure he would lose both feet.

Eye for an eye and it you get an eye get some feet.

 

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....

 

Nah, should've had the rescue crew "figure out which course of action was best" to rescue his dumb edited off the ice. Namely suggesting several ways that would fail.

 

Reminds me of one of my favorite Dilberts: The crew is on a team building retreat and has to decide whether to save a teammate from a bear or eat donuts.

"Who wants to be on the donut eating evaluation committee?"
"Oops, problem solved."

But meanwhile, this story does underscore a serious concern and does make me wonder how open we should be about our interests and collections. I've often stated that our accumulation doesn't add up to the deductible on my homeowner's policy, but that would not necessarily dissuade someone from trying to find out personally.

Let's be careful out there.

 

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

 

makes me think about ebay ,imagine some who have huge inventory for sale worth large sum's of money on auction , now someone could just buy something from you and pay by money order ,and thats it now he has your home address.
maybe the cops should start checking for pattern robberies ????????

 

Not if you use a PO Box address for payments!

(Yes, it is possible to get the street address from the Post Office, but it requires a formal request, with justificiation.)