A popular janitor who had just been promoted to facilities supervisor at an LA Fitness in Deerfield Beach, FL was outed as one of Florida's most prolific bank robbers after he died during a job gone wrong. 56-year-old Michael J. Webb was called "reliable...someone who could be trusted to do the right thing" by his boss. Guess he didn't know that Webb was actually a career criminal who'd been in and out of jail for over half of his life.
Police had unknowingly christened Webb the "counter jumper" following five robberies over a five month period. During his sixth heist, Webb attempted to rob a Chase Bank in Pompano Beach, a location he'd robbed twice before. When he noticed that they had installed a bulletproof glass partition, he ran out of the bank and fled onto the interstate in his vehicle.
As police chased him, his vehicle flipped over onto a grassy area, and when he started to crawl out of the vehicle with a gun, police opened fire on him, killing him.
Two decades ago, Webb was known by Florida police as the "Bandanna Bandit." During a seven month span between 1989 and 1990, Webb robbed 11 banks in South Florida, stealing over $100,000. The co-owners of the gym say they were aware of Webb's past, but he had convinced them that he was a changed man.
Webb was incarcerated for the first time for unarmed robbery in his native Providence, RI. Upon his release, he was arrested for armed robbery and spent six years behind bars. He moved to South Florida, and was arrested for attempted murder in 1986. During his "Bandanna Bandit" days, he was arrested in a situation similar to the one that ended his life.
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[via Daily Mail UK]
