The Oklahoma Bank Robbery That Led to a San Francisco Shopping Spree

When you think about bank robbery in Oklahoma, you probably default to the Wild West. Bonnie & Clyde, the Dalton Gang, Jesse James, and the like running around a lawless territory or a developing new state, but this one happened much more recently than those.

The Geronimo Bank Robbery of 1984

On December 14, 1984, the First Bank of Chattanooga's branch in Geronimo was robbed of about $17,000.

Four people were killed, three others were wounded, and the two suspects headed west.

Jay Wesley Neill and Robert Grady Johnson were some very bold modern outlaws.

Here's the attention to detail those two put into this robbery.

In the planning stage of this heinous crime, they planned their getaway well before walking into the bank. They had flights out of Lawton, a hotel booked in California, and a plan to live large for as long as possible.

It all went to plan, and they were living large in San Francisco when the law caught up with them just three days later. They got around SanFran in limousines, spent a huge chunk of that $17-grand on new clothes and nighttime fun, but they failed to account for one fine detail.

How the FBI Tracked the Stolen Money

The bank gave them marked bills. Not like some super-secret black-light spy tech, they just had the serial numbers recorded on file.

Now, I know the 80s weren't a golden age of technology, but the FBI tracked some of those marked bills to the limousine driver. He provided details that led agents to the hotel where the two men were staying.

The Four Victims of the Geronimo Robbery

The crime itself was far uglier than the getaway might suggest. Bank employees Kay Bruno, Jerri Bowles and Joyce Mullenix were killed, along with customer Ralph Zeller. Three other customers were shot and wounded, and they even took a shot at a 14-month-old baby.

Neill was 19, Johnson was 22, and both were from Lawton.

They'd been struggling financially, had ties to the bank, and thought they could pull it off.

The case went through years of legal proceedings, including overturned convictions and separate retrials. Both men were ultimately convicted in connection with the four murders.

Jay Wesley Neill was executed for his crimes in 2002. Robert Grady Johnson is still serving his life sentence without the possibility of parole.