by: Mike Miller
1/17/2017

Banks came about because it is not safe to keep large amounts of cash at home. It amazes me every time I hear about someone getting robbed of $10,000 worth of jewelry and another $5K in cash. It is crazy to be so obviously exposed.

If people know you keep cash, you better keep that information to a very select inner-circle. A North Carolina car dealer is learning the hard way.

Six men in Charlotte are accused of stealing $1.5 million from a Mooresville car dealer and junkyard owner after threatening to shoot his children. According the the Charlotte Observer, the thieves hatched the plot while in jail.

These guys, who have done soft time, Roderick Hardin, Tim Donahue, Leo McIntyre, Otis Sutton, and brothers Abdul and Osman White are charged with robbing a business that engages in interstate commerce, are looking at big time after committing a federal crime.

Osman White came up with the plan to rob the owner of the car dealership/junkyard, who was believed to have a million dollars in a safe in his house. White shared his plan with McIntyre and Hardin, while the men were housed in pod 3700 in Mecklenburg's uptown jail.

The target of the plot owns a junkyard and also sells used vehicles and parts, and he buys and receives vehicles from auctions across the Southeast. The business also ships car parts throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

The owner lived in a home located on the same property and told investigators that he'd been storing money from his business in a safe in his home for years.

The Heist

On July 21, the target and his children were inside the home in Mooresville. A car pulled into the driveway, and two men - later identified as Hardin and Sutton - asked about buying one of the cars for sale at the edge of the property.

As the men were talking to the victim, two of the other suspects pulled out a shotgun, demanding money from the victim and ordering the family into the home. Once the family was inside the home, they demanded the cash from the safe and threatened to shoot the children if they did not comply. The victim forked over the funds while his family was tied and gagged.

The thieves were caught when an inside informant, maybe just unhappy with his his part of the take, came forward to cops.

Once again, shameful behavior. We should love and respect our fellow man!