Opinion ID: 71643
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The University Federal Credit Union Robbery

Text: In July 2005, Arthur Winn and John Franklin successfully robbed the Coastal County Credit Union. Winn and Franklin decided to try their luck again, and set their sights on the University Federal Credit Union (“UFCU”) in Galveston, Texas. They recruited Senegal, York, and York’s cousin, DeWayne Lekeith “Ki-Ki” Joseph, to assist with the heist, although Joseph later backed out of the scheme. The four decided that Winn would steal two cars and serve as the getaway driver, Franklin would hold open the door to the bank, and Senegal and York would enter the bank to carry out the robbery. In August 2005, the four drove a stolen Chevrolet Suburban to the UFCU and commenced the robbery according to their assigned roles. Senegal and York obtained almost $10,000 from the bank tellers, and then ran back to the Suburban. Once inside the Suburban, a dye pack that one of the tellers had slipped into the money bag exploded. At that moment, the Suburban stopped running. The four abandoned the Suburban and continued their escape in a stolen Buick that Winn had parked nearby as a backup getaway vehicle. Because they feared that someone had followed them, they decided to ditch the Buick and continue fleeing in Franklin’s personal Chevrolet Impala. The four parked the Buick close to where Franklin had left his car, and waited for him to retrieve it and return for them. Franklin, still scared that someone had followed him, never picked up the others. While Winn, Senegal, and York waited for Franklin, Winn saw Tony Mason drive past. Winn, who knew Mason from his days in a street gang, 2 Case: 08-40406 Document: 00511059611 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/23/2010 No. 08-40406 flagged Mason, and Mason agreed to drive the three to Winn’s mother’s house. While en route, York began to discuss the botched robbery, and Winn quickly instructed him to be quiet. Upon arriving at Winn’s mother’s house, Senegal gave Mason a handful of money from the UFCU robbery. 2. Senegal and York’s Possession of a Lorcin Pistol A few days after the UFCU robbery, Senegal told his cousin, Jasmine Epps, about his involvement. Around this time, Epps witnessed Senegal with a silver gun while visiting Senegal’s girlfriend, Tesse Rolland. Epps saw Senegal and Rolland playing with the firearm before Rolland took the gun into her bedroom. Rolland testified to the grand jury that she saw York give the gun to Senegal. At trial, however, Rolland recanted and testified that she knew nothing about the weapon. Police officers seized the firearm while arresting Epps at Rolland’s apartment sometime later for an unrelated crime, and identified the weapon as a Lorcin pistol. Upon her release, Epps called Senegal at Rolland’s apartment, at which point Senegal cursed and shouted at Epps because he did not want her to tell the police about his participation in the UFCU robbery. Epps later identified the recovered Lorcin pistol as the same one she observed Senegal and Rolland playing with shortly after the UFCU robbery. 3. The Attempted Murder of Tony Mason York began to fear that the police would associate him with the UFCU robbery and decided to seek help from Joseph. York discussed the botched robbery with Joseph, detailing the various ways he believed the police could tie him and the others to the crime. Later, Senegal and York heard that the police had arrested Mason for traffic warrants. Fearing that Mason would implicate them in the UFCU robbery, Senegal and York contacted Joseph again to discuss killing Mason. 3 Case: 08-40406 Document: 00511059611 Page: 4 Date Filed: 03/23/2010 No. 08-40406 In late September 2005, Joseph, Senegal, and York drove a stolen Jeep Cherokee while searching for drug dealers to rob. According to Joseph, at some point during the drive, York started to get upset with him. Joseph asked that the two let him out of the Jeep, and Senegal and York complied. After leaving Joseph, Senegal and York drove to Mason’s house, donning bandanas over their faces. Senegal, with his gun drawn, approached Mason while Mason worked on his car. When he attempted to fire, however, his gun jammed. York decided to try with his weapon, and successfully shot Mason once. Mason fled into the courtyard of his apartment building, but fell after a short distance. York approached Mason to shoot him a second time, but his gun also jammed before he could fire another round. Mason stood up and continued his escape, and eventually the paramedics found him. Mason remained in a coma for nearly a month, but survived. 4. The Robbery of Adrian DeVault Later that evening, Senegal and York approached Adrian DeVault while DeVault sat in his car in an apartment parking lot. They pulled their weapons and demanded DeVault’s valuables, securing a chain, a black Movado watch, a white gold diamond bracelet, and about $350 in cash. They also ordered DeVault out of the car and tried to steal it, but failed when they could not get the car into gear. DeVault returned fifteen minutes later to find his car where he had left it, still running with the keys in the ignition. DeVault drove back to his house, and upon arrival, found a .38 revolver that one of the robbers had left inside the vehicle. DeVault did not report the robbery to the police, but a detective contacted him about a month later. DeVault corroborated the detective’s account of the robbery, and turned over the firearm. At trial, Winn identified the firearm as the same one that York carried during the UFCU robbery, and a Texas 4 Case: 08-40406 Document: 00511059611 Page: 5 Date Filed: 03/23/2010 No. 08-40406 Department of Public Safety expert testified that the bullet extracted from Mason’s body matched the firearm recovered from DeVault’s car. The morning after the Mason shooting and the DeVault robbery, York met with Joseph. During their conversation, York reported the successful robbery and the unsuccessful attempt on Mason’s life. York also showed Joseph the black Movado watch they had stolen. A few days after the robbery, one of the robbers pawned a black Movado watch and a gold bracelet. Later, DeVault accompanied a law enforcement officer to the pawn shop and identified the pawned items as those stolen from him. An employee of the pawn shop produced pawn slips for the items with Senegal’s signature. Some time after the Mason shooting, Winn and York ended up in the same jail cell.1 While there, York discussed the Mason shooting with Winn in great detail, and stated that he shot Mason with the same .38 revolver he had used in the UFCU robbery. A few days after the initial conversation, York told Winn about the DeVault robbery, describing their failure to steal the car and how they inadvertently left a gun in the vehicle. 5. The Texas City Arrest of York and Joseph In early October 2005, Texas City Police officers arrested York and Joseph in a stolen Buick.2 Inside the car, officers found a .357 bulldog snub nose revolver that belonged to York, and a Colt .45 firearm that belonged to Senegal. At trial, Joseph identified Senegal’s Colt .45 as the same weapon that jammed during the unsuccessful attempt on Mason’s life. 1 It is not clear from the record why the two were arrested or how they came to be in the same cell. 2 Joseph testified that Senegal accompanied him and York the night of their Texas City arrest, but evaded capture by the authorities. 5 Case: 08-40406 Document: 00511059611 Page: 6 Date Filed: 03/23/2010 No. 08-40406