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Vallejo Armored Car Murders

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Real Names: Martin Lewis McCumber, Dennis James Jacobson, and Alphonso Medina Lontayo
Nicknames: Mac (Martin)
Location: Vallejo, California
Date: November 13, 1991

Case[]

Details: At 8:51pm on November 13, 1991, a chilling call came into the Vallejo, California police. Loomis drivers had pulled into a Loomis Armored Inc. warehouse in Vallejo and witnessed a man tied up on the floor. Normally, drivers drop off money collected on their runs at the warehouse for deposit in banks. Patrol cars immediately rolled to the scene of what they believed was a robbery in progress at the warehouse. As police made their approach, they saw that the security door of the main building was partially open. A bag of money lay near the entrance. The officers moved cautiously, fearful that somewhere, gunmen might still be lurking.
Inside, police discovered that this was far more than a simple robbery. Just beyond the door, a security guard lay dead. His hands had been bound with rope, and he had been shot through the head. In another part of the building, police found two other guards. One was dead, the other mortally wounded (he later died in the hospital). Like the first victim, they had each been bound and shot in the head.
The guards were identified as forty-nine-year-old Martin McCumber of Fairfield, twenty-nine-year-old Dennis Jacobson of Vallejo, and twenty-five-year-old Alphonso Lontayo of Vallejo. Martin left behind a wife of nearly twenty years and four stepchildren. He had worked for Loomis for eleven years. Alphonso was engaged to be married in six months. He had recently switched to the night shift in order to make enough money for the wedding and a new house. Detective Bob Sampayan said that this case will be one that will forever stick in his mind because it was a very brutal and senseless killing of three innocent people who were trying to make a living.
The brutality of this crime was not its only hallmark. Police were surprised to find that the killers had left behind an abundance of physical evidence. All of that evidence has been used in the recreations for the broadcast. Police hope that someone in the audience will be able to help identify the killers.
Immediately after police units had secured the crime scene, detectives were called in. They looked inside numerous duffel bags that had been left behind. Inside the bags, they found a pair of shoes, some tools, and some lighter fluid. Sgt. Ronald Becker said that the lighter fluid is still somewhat of a mystery to him and the other detectives. They have not been able to identify its purpose in relation to the crime. A price had been handwritten on the lighter fluid container. So far, no match to the writing has been found. The shoes were a brand called “Honors”, sold exclusively at Target chain stores.
Detectives were surprised to find that the murder weapon had been left behind. It is an eight-inch blue steel Colt Trooper, .357-caliber Magnum revolver. They were able to determine that it had been reported as previously lost or stolen in the Los Angeles area in approximately 1969. By the next morning, the FBI had been called in. At every turn, more evidence was discovered. Inside the compound, investigators found an orange duffel bag stuffed with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nearby, they found the bolt cutters which had been used to break in through the wire fence.
As investigators traveled along the fence line at Loomis, they located a pair of gloves that were about fifteen-to-twenty feet from the cut hole in the fence. Beyond that, they found ski masks, more gloves, and camouflage or fatigue-type clothing. They found another large bag; inside it was an abundance of currency. It, too, appeared to have been abandoned.
In a park across the street, investigators found a pair of gloves, a ski mask, and an AK-47 assault rifle. Nearby, they found an impression in the ground. This led them to believe that one of the killers laid in that area for some time following the crime, hoping that the police would leave, and he could finish his escape. Judging from the evidence, the authorities theorize that there were four robbers. Hair samples found on the ski masks indicated that at least one of them was white and one black. Eyewitnesses would later confirm this.
Exactly one week to the hour after the murders, authorities set up a roadblock near the armored car facility hoping to find people who traveled the area regularly. They learned that a white male was seen running north from the building at around 9pm on November 13. A black male was seen around the same time running north on a different street.
Working backwards, authorities began to piece together what happened on the night of the murders. At approximately 8pm, four heavily armed men dressed in combat fatigues approached the Loomis building and cut through the fence. One security guard was on duty inside. Forty minutes later, two other guards arrived, transporting a significant amount of cash. They made radio contact with the guard inside the building who was stationed in a lookout booth called the turret room. He opened up the outer gate and the security door.
Several Loomis trucks were parked on the inside of the fence. This would have provided the killers with easy cover so as not to been seen by the guard inside the turret room. Once the truck arrived and the security door began to open, it would have been possible for the killers to enter the facility, coming in underneath the opening door quickly before the guards had a chance to respond.
It is believed that the killers approached the guards as they left the truck and held them as hostages, ordering the other guard to exit the turret room. It is believed that he did that, thinking that it would save the lives of his friends. Once the three guards were overpowered, they were bound. The killers then focused their attention on the truck. They went through the money and placed it in duffel bags. Then, they shot the guards.
FBI agent Richard Hanf noted that there was no reason for the guards to be killed, other than if, for some reason, they could possibly identify the robbers/killers. This led investigators to speculate on whether or not one of the guards actually knew one or more of the killers.
When the killers fired their gun, they activated an interior alarm which caused them to panic and flee. They filled the bags so full of money that they could not carry them. Each one weighed about ninety pounds. They were not aware of how heavy money actually is. Despite the blaring alarm, the killers fled and got away scot-free. The stark irony is that they also got away with absolutely no money. Millions of dollars were left behind.
Sgt. Becker noted that the victims in this case were more than just guards; they had wives, children, girlfriends, and parents that they left behind. Their survivors have been permanently impacted. He noted that nothing can ever be done to undo what has been done to them, and probably the closest authorities can ever come to rectifying the impact on their lives is to help solve this crime.
Suspects: One white male and one black male were seen fleeing the scene of the crime. The black male had short hair, was between twenty and thirty (in 1991), was between 6'0" and 6'5" and had a heavy build. He was wearing a camouflage shirt and pants which were tucked into his boots. Hairs found on ski masks left by the killers confirmed that at least one white male and one black male were involved.
Authorities suspect that at least four men were involved. Each of them was believed to have been wearing ski masks and military fatigues at the time of the murders. One of them was believed to have been wearing "Honors" brand shoes, available at Target stores. One of them may be driving a yellow late-1970s Datsun.
It is suspected that at least one of the victims may have known at least one of the killers, since they were executed for seemingly no reason.
Investigators are trying to find the last owner of the revolver: Curtis Lee Hunt, a man police believe lived in Venice in 1989. He is not considered a suspect.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the April 22, 1992 episode.

Results: Solved. In March 1993, twenty-nine-year-old Thomas Durand "Tom" Young was arrested by the ATF on firearms charges. An informant told police that he was involved in the murders. In November, police matched a fingerprint found at the crime scene to him. On November 26, he confessed to the robbery and the murders. He admitted killing two of the guards. He also told police that three other men were involved: thirty-eight-year-old Eugene Bryce Livingston, thirty-four-year-old Asad Shadeed Abdul Muhammad (formerly James Gary Brown), and thirty-eight-year-old Victor James McClain. They were arrested in December.
Police had long suspected Livingston of being involved; he was a former driver and custodian for Loomis and had worked with the victims. He had worked there for eight years until he quit in December 1992. It was alleged that he gave keys to the other men and also gave them details on the warehouse's security system and its operations. All four suspects knew each other; a planner found in Young's home had Livingston and McClain's phone numbers.
All four men were charged with murder and armed robbery. In exchange for his testimony, Young pleaded guilty to one count of murder and was sentenced to twenty-five years to life. However, during a preliminary hearing for Livingston, Muhammad, and McClain, Young recanted his confession. As a result, in July 1994, charges against Muhammad and McClain were dropped due to lack of evidence. Also, Young's plea agreement was revoked since he refused to testify. Therefore, Young and Livingston still faced charges in the case.
In January 1996, Young was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and robbery. He was sentenced to three life terms without parole. Livingston confessed to being involved in the robbery; however, he denied participating in the murders. In April 1996, he was found guilty of second-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery but was acquitted of murder. He served three years in prison and was later released. In his confession, he identified Muhammad as the mastermind of the robbery and murders.
In May 1999, DNA evidence linked Muhammad to saliva found on a nylon stocking used as a mask and left behind at the crime scene. On June 9, he was arrested again and charged with the murders. On May 1, 2001, he was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In May 2004, his conviction was upheld.
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