Bank Robber, hostages, killing in Houghton MI
Kitiara
: Apparently an ex Tech student with a history of schizophrenia walked into
: the Houghton National Bank on last Thursday with a shotgun (after posting
: his philosophy somewhere on the internet (anyone know where?) and held up
: the bank. He took two tellers as hostages. The car he was in had the
: tires shot on them, so he was stuck where he was until Friday. One of the
: hostages was let go. I'm not sure if this is the same person who was shot
: with a shotgun and is now in stable but serious condition in Marquette
: General Hospital. The other hostage stayed there with a bomb strapped to
: her (whether it was a real bomb or not my mother couldn't tell). The
: entire incident ended with the local police shooting and killing the bank
: robber.
(not a native yooper, but will an MTU student do?)
It happened a few minutes before 3pm on Thursday.... he walked into the
bank (in the middle of town, about 1/2 block from the Police Station!) and
I guess demanded money. Two shots were fired, one hitting the ceiling, and
the other hitting a bank teller, Lori (somebody)... she was taken to Portage
Hospital and later to the Marquette one... last I heard, she was listed in
serious condition...
Not sure where he has his philosopies posted... but he was working on
a book and had sent a letter to the editor of the Daily Bull a few months
back with a lot of his ideas/part of his book in it... it was rather strange
and rambling....
He took 2 tellers as hostages as he left the bank with an undetermined
amount of money. When he got back to his car, he let one of the hostages go.
He then strapped some sort of explosive/bomb device to the leg of the other
hostage and had her get into the back of the car. (Note: all of this was
happening as we were in the process of getting 30.9 inches of snow or so...)
When he attempted to drive off, *then* the police shot out his tires/disabled
his car... negotiations began, with no success... about 16 hours later, just
before 8am Friday morning, one shot rang out... on the radio about 20 minutes
later, it was announced that the situation was "over" and that the hostage
was "safe"... later the rest of the details were filled in...
:
: The robber, aside from his history of schizophrenia (for which he was
: hosptialized in the past) had an uncle who manages the local Kewanaw Co-op
: in Houghton MI. The uncle asked to speak to his nephew to try to get him
: to surrender, but the police wouldn't let him. Naturally, he's bitter
: about this and the resultant death of his nephew.
I didn't hear that, but it's likely... I don't have a TV, so didn't
hear the latest developments probably....
: I can only attest to the accuracy of the above as far as I got it from my
: mother's report over the phone. If any local Yoopers can add details or
: can tell me of any errors, please let me know.
He was a former Tech student, about 25 years old... I guess he had
caused some problems at Tech before, so was banned from all the buildings
except the MUB and one other one? (not sure on all the details of that, heard
it from some friends on the Daily Bull staff)
The other hostage is okay... the police shot the bank robber, got
her out, and disabled the bomb... they had police from all over... Houghton,
Hancock, South Range I think, and even the MTU Campus Security... and a few
more areas that I can't remember now....
Hope that fills in a few small gaps... I am sure that there are more.
Mary
:
--
"The cure for anything is salt water--sweat, tears, or the sea."
--Isak Dinesen
Robert J. Goniea
:
: Not sure where he has his philosopies posted... but he was working on
: back with a lot of his ideas/part of his book in it... it was rather strange
: and rambling....
The special Friday issue of the Daily Bull (due to the holdup) mentions that
his works are posted at http://www.lookup.com/homepages/64771/home.html
I havent tried to access it, so I cant guarantee it's there.
: The other hostage is okay... the police shot the bank robber, got
: her out, and disabled the bomb... they had police from all over... Houghton,
: Hancock, South Range I think, and even the MTU Campus Security... and a few
: more areas that I can't remember now....
The FBI was called in as well from their branch office in Marquette, because
bank robbery is a federal offense. Due to the bomb, they had to call in a
bomb squad from Negaunee.
Bob G.
******************************************************************************
* rjgo...@mtu.edu * This university will get along *
* (The middle of nowhere is closer * fine as soon as it realizes that *
* to civilization than I am) * tuition increases are NOT *
* * inevitable. *
******************************************************************************
Kitiara
: > For what it's worth, a sniper from the Michigan State Police Emergency
: > Support Team shot the hostage. Not the locals...
:
: They shot the hostage???
:
NO! Methinks the other guy typoed <Grin> They shot John S., the guy
that held up the bank... The hostage is fine...
Mary
--
To think is to differ.
-Clarence Darrow, Scopes trial, July 1925
Dave Moorman
(JServ13626) wrote:
> For what it's worth, a sniper from the Michigan State Police Emergency
> Support Team shot the hostage. Not the locals...
They shot the hostage???
Dave
JServ13626
Dave Moorman
> NO! Methinks the other guy typoed <Grin> They shot John S., the guy
> that held up the bank... The hostage is fine...
Thanks for the clarification, Mary. I was hoping it was a typo!
Dave
Kitiara
: : The bank holdup story is availible at
: : http://www.hu.mtu.edu/~bull2.
:
: Does "bull2" mean anything that we should know about in advance? ;)
:
No again...that's just part of the name of our daily paper--the
Daily Bull...formerly known as the Bull Sheet <grin> What do you expect
when our weekly paper is called the Lode?
Mary (again)
--
Programmers often neglect proper consideration of the weak link in
the software: the person who will be using it.
- Leonard Lee
Computational Biosciences
: I just spoke with my Mother today, she was telling me the news from our
: hometown of Houghton. This would be of interest to people who know the
: area, hardly anything like this happens up there.
:
[other details deleted]
:
: mother's report over the phone. If any local Yoopers can add details or
: can tell me of any errors, please let me know.
Read the Gazette articles on the WEB at
http://www.sbea.mtu.edu/alumni/robbery.html
Dianne Marsh (dia...@cbi.com)
Computational Biosciences, Inc.
erc...@vms.cis.pitt.edu
> playing in the buff. He was up here this fall. Supposedly, he
> has been all over the US.
>
> Josh
And I gather that he never squeezes the accordion too tight? Ouch!
Rusty
erco...@pitt.edu
Joshua P. Weage
: JServ13626 <jserv...@aol.com> wrote:
: >For what it's worth, a sniper from the Michigan State Police Emergency
: >Support Team shot the hostage. Not the locals...
: I am pretty sure you meant to say that the MSP sniper shot the suspect;
: not the hostage.
Yes, that is what he/she meant. Actually there were
four shots placed by an unknown number of snipers. (Probably
two, The Bull article didn't say).
Josh
--
----------------------------------------------------------------
-- Joshua Weage E-Mail : we...@mtu.edu --
-- Third Year ME Student & CAEL Partner --
-- Check out my homepage @ http://www.me.mtu.edu/~weage/ --
-- "Together we will rule the universe, all by myself" --
-- -- Tom Servo Mystery Science Theater 3000 --
Joshua P. Weage
: this fall, I saw a flakey article in the Mining Journal newspaper. Seems a
: couple fella's and a women were doing their laundry at a Houghton laundromat,
: and were arrested. Seems they forgot about a change of clothes while doing
: their duds. When police arrived, the article said, one guy was playing an
: accordian and the other two were dancing. Upon being arrested, the accord-
: ian player said (and I quote) "Well, I guess this wasn't such a good idea".....
: One of my crew brought this to me while we were working sea trial &
: escort duty on our tug "SEA COLT" with a 380' military transport ferry being
: built and tested by Lake Shore Industrie's Shipyard up there...Good pasties
: and good people up there tho.....Capt. Ed Montgomery
Sounds like the Brazillian accordian player who enjoys
playing in the buff. He was up here this fall. Supposedly, he
has been all over the US.
Josh
Kitiara
: four shots placed by an unknown number of snipers. (Probably
: two, The Bull article didn't say).
it must have been pretty simultaneously...
Mary
If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count. --Dexter Yager
Todd W. Sturm
: > Support Team shot the hostage. Not the locals...
:
:
: Dave
For what it's worth, 4 different snipers shot him in the head.
Witness's said that it sounded like a single shot! Give the local police
a thumb's up for disabling the getaway vehicle by shooting out all four
tires:-) See their are brilliant Yoopers:-)
-Todd
President MTU Fourwheelers/Copper Country Mudslingers
Superior Search and Rescue
tws...@mtu.edu
CJ Patty
is now in stable but serious condition in Marquette General Hospital. <<
Lori R... something, the police chief's daughter-in-law, is still at MGH..
it has been reported that part of her arm had to be amputated, among other
bullet wounds.
Patty.... another Yooper in disguise
Denise Kleman
Here is the complete story from the Lode (Friday Jan 26th):
Press conference sheds light on recent robbery attempt
by RICHELLE WHITE
News Editor
The Houghton City Police Department, in a press conference Monday, shed light on the recent
attempted bank robbery and subsequent hostage standoff.
It all began at 2:53 pm on January 18, 1996, when John Segreto, 24, a former Michigan Tech
student, walked into the downtown branch of MFC First National Bank. He stepped up to teller Tracy
Immonen's window and pulled out a sawed-off 20-gauge shotgun. He then ordered everybody except
Immonen and the one customer in the bank to go into the vault.
From her office at the back of the floor, Laurie Raffaelli, branch manager, observed what was going
on. She called the Houghton Police, and told them, "I think the bank is being robbed. There is a man with
a gun."
Segreto asked for money, a married woman to take as hostage, and a car. Raffaelli stepped forward
and told him she was married. This part of the robbery was observed by Houghton Police Sgt. Jim
Raffaelli, Laurie's husband, from a walkway between Roy's Pharmacy and the bank.
Segreto hung a homemade bomb around Laurie's neck and began to lead her out of the bank.
He then demanded a car. When Laurie told him they all carpooled to work, he became agitated and
fired a shot into the air. Teller Jill Ruohonen then told him she had a car he could use.
As Segreto was leading Laurie Raffaelli out of the bank, he shot her from behind. Police are still
unsure whether the shot was intentional or accidental, as they have not yet been able to talk to Laurie about
it.
Ruohonen was then forced to take the bomb off Raffaelli and put it on Immonen. Immonen's hands
were duct-taped in front of her, and she had been ordered to sit on the floor in the reception area with her
back to Segreto. Laurie Raffaelli make it to the vault. She was taken to Portage Hospital and then
transferred to Marquette General Hospital, where she lost part of her arm.
Segreto was in the bank for 20-25 minutes. Segreto then led Immonen and Ruohonen out the front
door of the bank, to Ruohonen's car, which was in a parking lot across Sheldon Avenue.
An undisclosed amount of cash had been given to Segreto, police said, which has since been
recovered by the bank.
Ruohonen was allowed to leave after giving Segreto the keys to her car. Immonen was put in the
back seat of the car and told to lie down. Segreto then pulled out of the parking space and turned left on
Sheldon Ave. Police shot all four tires on the car, and Segreto continued driving until he got stuck in the
snow in front of the firm of U.P. Engineering. This is where he would sit for the next 16 hours
negotiating with police, out the window, then with a cellular phone.
Outside, one of the worst snow storms to hit the Copper Country in nearly five decades was raging
on.
Segreto gave police a long list of demands, along with a few pages of his philosophy on good and
evil. Police said they couldn't understand what he was trying to say in those papers.
His list of demands included talking to the President of the United States, Gov. John Engler, and the
mayor of Houghton; he also wanted to go with aliens. "He wanted people we couldn't produce,"
Houghton City Police Chief Raffaelli said.
Segreto was getting frustrated with police officers during talks, and would refuse to continue talking
with them, until they would send another officer over to the car to try to negotiate with him.
Police said Segreto told them he didn't want to talk to his family. Negotiations were ongoing through
the night but Segreto told police repeatedly that he did not want to surrender and go to jail or to a mental
hospital. The police were aware the bomb was still attached to Immonen, and Segreto was holding what
appeared to be the detonating device.
Watching Segreto's movements with night-vision goggles, police noticed that he would switch the
detonating device from one hand to the other, and later in the night, he set it down a few times, Houghton
County Sheriff Gary Beauchamp said.
At one point, Segreto cut off some of Immonen's hair to "show he meant business," police said.
Segreto mentioned that her fingers would be next if police did not meet his list of demands. The officers
on the scene then determined he was violating her personal space and did not value her life. They made a
joint decision that he would be shot when Immonen was in the least amount of danger, when he next set
the detonating device down. Members of the State Police Emergency Support Team were positioned in the
U.P. Engineering firm near the car. Their orders were to shoot Segreto when the opportunity came up,
before be could harm Immonen.
At approximately 7:35am Friday, four members of the support team fired sniper rifles at the same
time, killing Segreto. All four shots hit the man in the "head area" police said.
The state police bomb squad removed the device from Immonen, and later detonated it. It was
determined that the device would've killed Immonen, had it gone off, and that it was a homemade shrapnel
device.
Later, the autopsy at Keweenaw Memorial in Calumet revealed what appeared to be another bomb
secured to Segreto's body. The bomb squad was called in to remove the second device. At the press
conference police said they were not sure if this device was a bomb.
Immonen was not harmed physically in the incident, and Laurie Raffaelli's condition was upgraded to
fair from serious on Wednesday.
Segreto's funeral will be in California, where his parents live.
Norman Morin
>The above is unusual for the U.P. -- although while working in Ontonogan
>this fall, I saw a flakey article in the Mining Journal newspaper.
....
> One of my crew brought this to me while we were working sea trial &
>escort duty on our tug "SEA COLT" with a 380' military transport ferry being
>built and tested by Lake Shore Industrie's Shipyard up there...Good pasties
>and good people up there tho.....Capt. Ed Montgomery
Thank you for your kind words about the people in Ontonagon. I grew
up there (same house from birth through highschool graduation), and
although they often drove me nuts (especially if you like to be anonymous
once in awhile -- you couldn't pass gas without the whole town discussing
it), I do miss the people and think they are a fine lot. My father works
in the paper mill across the river from the shipyard.
Have a good weekend.
--Norm
--
*------------------------------*------------------------------*
| Norman J. Morin | |
| Department of Economics | Email: nmo...@weber.ucsd.edu |
| University of California, | Voice: (619) 453-2998 |
| San Diego | Fax: (619) 534-7004 |
| La Jolla, CA 92023-0508 | |
*------------------------------*------------------------------*
Denise Kleman
: >>I'm not sure if this is the same person who was shot with a shotgun and
From what I heard, Lori Raffelli was the police chief's wife, not daughter-in-
law. She was upgraded from serious to fair condition yesterday....
Denise Dickson