FBI: Theft suspect seen on webcam image

One of the suspects used a co-worker’s PIN code to enter the building, the FBI said.

YOUNGSTOWN — The surveillance videotape was taken from AT Systems before the theft of $7.4 million, but a webcam recorded a man taking the key that opened the videotape box.

To Tim Vargo, AT Systems branch manager, the image on the Webcam — a back-up surveillance camera in an office — appeared to be armored car driver/messenger Roger Lee Dillon, based on physical build and the way he carried himself, the FBI said.

The multimillion-dollar theft at AT Systems on Tibbets-Wick Road in Liberty took place between 8:20 and 8:44 p.m. Nov. 26, according to ADTSecurity Services logs.

Investigative findings, such as the webcam image, are contained in an affidavit FBI Special Agent Guy Hunneyman wrote in order to obtain arrest warrants for Dillon, 22, and his live-in girlfriend, Nicole D. Boyd, 24, both of Lowell Avenue.

The two are now in federal custody in West Virginia, as is Dillon’s 48-year-old mother, Sharon L. Gregory, pending a pretrial detention and preliminary hearings today in Beckley, W.Va.

Dillon is charged with bank larceny; Boyd and Gregory are charged with aiding and abetting.

Liberty Police Chief Tony Slifka has cited “stupidity” as one of the reasons Dillon was caught.

Here are the events leading up to and including the heist, according to Hunneyman’s affidavit:

UDillon and Boyd told friends they were going to move out of Ohio. Boyd dropped off personal possessions to her mother and to her ex-husband, who has custody of their child.

UOn Nov. 25, the night before the theft, Boyd’s father attached a bed cover to her purple 1999 GMC pickup truck. He questioned the timing — it was dark and cold — but Boyd and Dillon’s mother insisted it be done that evening.

USometime during the day on Nov. 26, Boyd and Gregory bought a 1999 black GMC Safari van from a used-car dealer in the Youngstown area and asked that the seats be removed. The dealer said they had arrived in a purple pickup truck.

UAround 8 p.m. Nov. 26, Dillon called the cell phone carried in the armored car making the last delivery of the day and spoke to the driver. Dillon asked when the two-man crew would return from their run because he forgot his paycheck at work and needed to get back in. The driver said it would be a while and he’d call Dillon when they returned.

UAt 8:20 p.m., AT Systems was entered using the PIN code assigned to employee Andrew Jackson, according to ADT Security records. The same PIN code was used to “re-arm” the facility at 8:44 p.m. Jackson recalled that, about a week before the burglary, while he was using his PIN code to enter the building, Dillon was standing behind him. Jackson believes Dillon saw the PIN code at that time. Jackson was later given a polygraph and his answers showed no deception.

UAt the time of the burglary, the Webcam, aside from capturing the image of the surveillance videotape box key removal, also shows the man leave the office and the outline of a vehicle parked in the bay area of AT Systems.

UThe last-run driver called Dillon’s cell phone around 10:50 p.m. to tell him they were back at AT Systems, but the call went to voice mail. Also at 10:50, the armored car crew detected the smell of vehicle exhaust/gasoline and saw tire tracks in the bay of the facility. Neither the smell nor the tracks were present when the crew left at 7:25 p.m. for its final run.

UThe crew alerted the branch manager, who told them to check the two locked safes. Both safes were empty. Missing was $7.4 million in cash and checks.

ULiberty police were called to the scene. FBI agents also responded.

UOn Nov. 27, the day after the theft, Dillon didn’t show for work and didn’t call off. During nearly 10 months on the job, he had only one unexcused absence, explaining that he misread the work schedule.

UAlso on Nov. 27, trash left at the curb at Dillon and Boyd’s residence was taken to the FBI field office. The trash included business and legal papers, among them Boyd’s birth certificate.

UUnder court order, a device to track Dillon and Boyd’s cell phones was put in place. No outgoing calls were made and all incoming calls went to voicemail.

UOn Nov. 28, Boyd’s mother entered their apartment to check on the welfare of pets. No pets were there and she noticed several items missing, including clothes, two computers and a computer game console. The pets’ whereabouts weren’t immediately known.

UThe next day, Boyd’s purple pickup was found abandoned in Salem.

Since Hunneyman’s affidavit, more details have emerged.

Receipts in the purple pickup led the FBI to Pipestem, W.Va. Dillon, Boyd and Gregory were arrested in a trailer there at 4:30 a.m. last Sunday.