Be Alert Home Invasion
*On Barton Road
*White Pickup No Plates missing Mirror
*Male and Female Couple, 20ish, some sort of Accent.
Sheriff took 30 minutes to Respond.
Finger Print Evidence not Collected.
*
*
Both Sides of the Same Problem:
Inland man's robbery charges dropped
MISTAKEN: Michael Lee Brown, of Moreno Valley, was accused of 40 bank thefts. Another suspect confessed.
10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 31, 2006
By KENNY KLEINThe Press-Enterprise
Even after his arrest in connection with a series of bank robberies in Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties, Michael Lee Brown knew authorities had the wrong man.
"I told them from day one they got the wrong person," said Brown, 35, of Moreno Valley. "I feel raped. If you get accused of something like this and you did not do it, the only people that believe you are the people that know you. It's just crazy. You name it and I've lost it over this."
On Wednesday, Judge Gary B. Tranbarger dismissed about 40 bank robbery related-charges against Brown in Riverside County Superior Court. A hearing on the last remaining count, which involves having a sawed-off shotgun in his home, is scheduled for July 7.
Brown was arrested by Riverside County Sheriff's deputies and other officers Feb. 17, 2005, at his Lemon Gum Court home on suspicion of committing bank robberies in Hemet, Moreno Valley, Irvine and San Bernardino, police said. Brown was later charged and spent several months in county jail, records show. Brown posted a percentage of his $250,000 bail and was released Aug. 18, 2005, according to court records. A key break for Brown took place in April, when a man matching Brown's physical description was arrested robbing a Baldwin Park bank. That man later admitted to a Hemet detective he worked alone and robbed all the same banks Brown had been blamed for.
Riverside County Deputy District Attorney David Steward, who was prosecuting the case, said the investigation revealed Brown had nothing to do with the bank robberies. He said there was evidence linking Brown to the crimes, including an eyewitness who identified Brown as the robber, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
"The checks and balances worked," Steward said Wednesday by telephone. "Justice was ultimately served."
Brown's Upland-based attorney Duane Dade said authorities never found any physical or scientific evidence, including the stolen money, dye packs, clothing or the specific type of bag used. Authorities did find a black and silver gun, not the black gun seen by witnesses at the robberies.
"They went through mug shots and were looking for a big black guy and found a big black guy," Dade said. "Based on that, you get a warrant somehow.
"There is nothing to put him at the scene and no physical evidence," Dade said. "While Mr. Brown was in custody, another bank robbery happened in San Bernardino (County). It was the same MO (method of operation) and same description."
Then in April, a 36-year-old Lake Elsinore man, who also matches Brown's description, was arrested in Baldwin Park on suspicion of several bank robberies.
Hemet Police Detective Michael Elmore, who investigated the Hemet cases, said he interviewed the Lake Elsinore man. Elmore said the man told him he worked alone and conducted all the bank robberies -- Hemet, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, Grand Terrace and Irvine -- for which Brown had been arrested and charged. The man remains in jail and is expected to appear in court June 14, Baldwin Park Police Lt. Raul Martinez said Wednesday.
Elmore said the descriptions of Brown and the other man are almost identical. Both weigh about 300 pounds and look like football players, police said.
Hemet Police Capt. Rob Webb said Brown did not commit any bank robberies in Hemet.
"Our detectives completed a very detailed investigation and believe that Mr. Brown did not commit any robberies in Hemet," Webb said.
Brown, who pleaded guilty to a theft case and had it reduced to a misdemeanor in the late '90s, said he's lost jobs, including auto repossession route that helped him support his wife and three children, ages 8, 9 and 10.
"I'm just hanging on," Brown said. "I could not have gotten through this without the help of my family."
Brown said he plans to sit down with his children now that the charges are behind him.
That will be no easy task because his family remembers officers showing up at his door with their guns out and handcuffing him, Brown said.
"I tell my kids if they go to school, this type of stuff won't happen," Brown said. "We have not sat down with them yet and explained it. Every time I see a cop, I think to myself anything can happen. I just don't trust them like I used to."
MISTAKEN: Michael Lee Brown, of Moreno Valley, was accused of 40 bank thefts. Another suspect confessed.
10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 31, 2006
By KENNY KLEINThe Press-Enterprise
Even after his arrest in connection with a series of bank robberies in Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties, Michael Lee Brown knew authorities had the wrong man.
"I told them from day one they got the wrong person," said Brown, 35, of Moreno Valley. "I feel raped. If you get accused of something like this and you did not do it, the only people that believe you are the people that know you. It's just crazy. You name it and I've lost it over this."
On Wednesday, Judge Gary B. Tranbarger dismissed about 40 bank robbery related-charges against Brown in Riverside County Superior Court. A hearing on the last remaining count, which involves having a sawed-off shotgun in his home, is scheduled for July 7.
Brown was arrested by Riverside County Sheriff's deputies and other officers Feb. 17, 2005, at his Lemon Gum Court home on suspicion of committing bank robberies in Hemet, Moreno Valley, Irvine and San Bernardino, police said. Brown was later charged and spent several months in county jail, records show. Brown posted a percentage of his $250,000 bail and was released Aug. 18, 2005, according to court records. A key break for Brown took place in April, when a man matching Brown's physical description was arrested robbing a Baldwin Park bank. That man later admitted to a Hemet detective he worked alone and robbed all the same banks Brown had been blamed for.
Riverside County Deputy District Attorney David Steward, who was prosecuting the case, said the investigation revealed Brown had nothing to do with the bank robberies. He said there was evidence linking Brown to the crimes, including an eyewitness who identified Brown as the robber, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
"The checks and balances worked," Steward said Wednesday by telephone. "Justice was ultimately served."
Brown's Upland-based attorney Duane Dade said authorities never found any physical or scientific evidence, including the stolen money, dye packs, clothing or the specific type of bag used. Authorities did find a black and silver gun, not the black gun seen by witnesses at the robberies.
"They went through mug shots and were looking for a big black guy and found a big black guy," Dade said. "Based on that, you get a warrant somehow.
"There is nothing to put him at the scene and no physical evidence," Dade said. "While Mr. Brown was in custody, another bank robbery happened in San Bernardino (County). It was the same MO (method of operation) and same description."
Then in April, a 36-year-old Lake Elsinore man, who also matches Brown's description, was arrested in Baldwin Park on suspicion of several bank robberies.
Hemet Police Detective Michael Elmore, who investigated the Hemet cases, said he interviewed the Lake Elsinore man. Elmore said the man told him he worked alone and conducted all the bank robberies -- Hemet, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, Grand Terrace and Irvine -- for which Brown had been arrested and charged. The man remains in jail and is expected to appear in court June 14, Baldwin Park Police Lt. Raul Martinez said Wednesday.
Elmore said the descriptions of Brown and the other man are almost identical. Both weigh about 300 pounds and look like football players, police said.
Hemet Police Capt. Rob Webb said Brown did not commit any bank robberies in Hemet.
"Our detectives completed a very detailed investigation and believe that Mr. Brown did not commit any robberies in Hemet," Webb said.
Brown, who pleaded guilty to a theft case and had it reduced to a misdemeanor in the late '90s, said he's lost jobs, including auto repossession route that helped him support his wife and three children, ages 8, 9 and 10.
"I'm just hanging on," Brown said. "I could not have gotten through this without the help of my family."
Brown said he plans to sit down with his children now that the charges are behind him.
That will be no easy task because his family remembers officers showing up at his door with their guns out and handcuffing him, Brown said.
"I tell my kids if they go to school, this type of stuff won't happen," Brown said. "We have not sat down with them yet and explained it. Every time I see a cop, I think to myself anything can happen. I just don't trust them like I used to."
