Fear, endorphins, you’re feeling high. But you keep... stick to the plan, stick to
the plan. This is Tom Justice...
he robbed 26 banks... using a racing bike to make his escape.
As you’re pushing through that door
exiting the bank, the fresh air hits you.
My adrenaline was just pumping And I put the money in my messenger bag,
and start rolling away. Before he
turned to crime ...
he was training to be an Olympic cyclist. We all felt pretty special,
that’s a cool thing to do, you know, to get recognition as a kid.
But as he got older, fear and doubt started to creep in.
I could see the others in front of me, how they... how much effort they were putting
in and they were not making it.
And I thought :
“I f they’re not making it
how am I supposed to make it? ”
There’s the reality of you have to put in an extraordinary
amount of work and I was coming of age in my early twenties
and I just wasn’t feeling that anymore. So he gave up cycling and got a regular
job. I felt kind of dead inside.
I felt like, I wanted to do something extraordinary. That’s when he decided to rob his first
bank. I walk the amount of steps
- which I’ve already counted out
and timed -
to the bank. I produce my note.
I produce my bag,
she filled it with money and I said
"Thank you."
I got on my bicycle.
The entire ride back to my house felt like an endorphin high
unlike anything else I’d ever experienced before.
Tom gave most of the money away... and kept it all secret from his girlfriend
Bari. But there came a time when it...
that wasn’t enough anymore.
He started using drugs and his motivation changed. I was just like a common thief
and it did not feel good.
On 7 March 2002, he was escaping a robbery in California... when a police officer spotted him.
At some point he says ”
“I’m gonna need to see what’s in your bag."
And I was like
"you’re not gonna like what you find in my bag."
Tom sped off, dumping his bike and hiding
in a nearby creek. I could hear helicopters going up and down
the creek. I could hear the... you could obviously hear
the police and they had brought out the police dogs.
And the police dogs were so close I could hear the jingle of their dogs tags.
Tom’s custom racing bike led the FBI straight to him.
He was arrested and his family learned of his criminal life.
It turned from like a cool secret thing just
for me to... it’s like, a shameful thing for my
parents to have to endure. He began reflecting on the impact of his
crimes. When you read a victim impact statement from
a bank teller who was ...
so I read, literally terrified and afraid for her life.
I felt so low. Tom pleaded guilty and went to prison.
Going to prison for nine years saved my life. He was released in 2011
and began rebuilding his life... eventually reuniting with his girlfriend Bari.
He now has a job as a care worker. Bari and I were looking back at the pictures
from over 20 years ago and I can recognise who that is but I can
see a spirit reflected in that photo
that I no longer associate with. Maybe no one else can see it, but I can see it.
I don’t know what is wrong with that guy but I’m glad he’s better now.