Published on Friday, December 16, 2005
in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Volusia's planning pays off in arrests

DeLAND -- It wasn't just luck that a sheriff's helicopter and nearly 100 law-enforcement officers caught up with four bank-robbery suspects fleeing south on Interstate 95 earlier this week.

Ever since shots were fired by a fast-moving group of young men during an Orange City bank heist in October, Volusia County sheriff's officials had been bracing for the return of the Knotty Head gang.

The South Florida group is known for bursting into banks along the state's east coast and taking over, armed with high-powered weapons and quick tempers. Federal officials blame the gang for more than three-dozen hold-ups.

"We believed it was just a matter of time before they came back up here," sheriff's Capt. Robert Jones said Thursday.

So sheriff's officials began planning in October how to catch them before they escaped to their home base in South Florida.

Their plan called for getting the sheriff's helicopter in the air as quickly as possible. Neighboring counties would be notified immediately, and dozens of deputies would spread out along Interstate 95, I-4 and other major highways, so they could pounce at the first sight of the suspects.

"You've got to make the net wide enough . . . before they get to the edges of the net," said Chief Deputy Bill Lee, who was positioned on U.S. Highway 92 with Sheriff Ben Johnson on Monday.

This would be the fastest, largest dragnet the Sheriff's Office has deployed for a bank robbery.

That's because Knotty Head members are known to shoot out of anger or frustration during a robbery. Although so far no one has been killed, local officials feared escalating violence if the gang returned.

"They terrorize the people and steal directly from the vault," Lee said.

During Monday's heist in DeLand, one shot was fired inside the Prosperity Bank toward the ceiling when an employee couldn't open the vault, police said.

That's exactly what sheriff's officials had been watching for to put their plan into action.

Three minutes after the robbery was called in to dispatchers, the first deputy was in position at the Seminole-Volusia county line on U.S. 17-92.

Two minutes later, the Air One helicopter was launched, and police dogs were dispatched. Soon after, nearly 50 deputies were strategically positioned across the county.

The suspects were spotted in a blue sport utility vehicle 41 minutes after the robbery as they drove south on I-95. Capt. Mike Coffin tracked the vehicle in an unmarked white pickup.

All the while, communications were coordinated by the sheriff's dispatch center through Air One, which kept its sites locked on the suspect vehicle.

"What worked was we were able to conduct a very dangerous pursuit within our pursuit policies," Coffin said. "It was a team effort."

The Florida Highway Patrol was notified and three marked cars pulled in behind the suspect vehicle, sending it speeding upward of 100 mph with occupants shooting at the troopers. Brevard County deputy sheriffs had time to get stop sticks into the roadway to slow the SUV.

"If it wasn't for Volusia calling us and telling us what they're in, we wouldn't be able to get behind it [the suspect vehicle]," FHP Sgt. Jorge Delahoz said. "Volusia County did an excellent job of preparing for these guys."

The plan was set to be executed either when an armed robbery involving multiple black men who use force is called in or when a vehicle, usually a mini van, is stolen from a public parking lot in the middle of the day.

Gang members are known to steal a vehicle, then abandon it about a block from the bank before fleeing in a larger, SUV-type vehicle. That's why deputies Monday had to rely on witnesses' descriptions of the suspects and the vehicle's tag, which was registered to a Riviera Beach owner, to know they had the right vehicle.

The suspects were captured after they bailed on the side of the highway and attempted to hide in thick palmettos. Brevard County and FHP caught the first three suspects. AVolusia police dog, Dino, made the last capture.

Authorities said some of the four men confessed to the DeLand robbery and made admissions in others. They are in the Brevard County Jail and are expected to be extradited to Volusia County.

The gang began as a group of drug dealers and first started robbing banks in November 2003. Since then, they are responsible for about 44 holdups, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said.

Fifteen gang members have been arrested, and in March the ringleader was convicted of 13 federal robbery and weapons charges.

Even so, the gang is still a threat.

"They're constantly recruiting younger people," Orihuela said.

Gang members are known to use all types of weapons, including high-powered rifles such as the AK-47, she said.

"People have been injured," Orihuela said. "Nobody's been shot. We're always concerned as they commit more bank robberies that things will escalate at some point."

The gang members stick to the east side of Florida. Volusia officials think either a splinter group or copy cat might try to strike in Volusia County again.

The FHP's Delahoz, whose troopers were not injured by the gunfire, said he thinks Knotty Head gang members will "think twice about coming to Volusia County" after Monday's successful pursuit by all the agencies involved.

"We're going to try and be ready for them if they come back," Lee, the chief deputy, said.