American Robber Flees House Arrest In BC

[greg...@yahoo.ca]

Bank robber fighting extradition flees while under house arrest
By David Bowermaster
Seattle Times staff reporter
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003768889&zsection_id=2002111777&slug=sommer30m&date=20070630
Luke Sommer, the former Army Ranger who masterminded the heavily armed
robbery of a Tacoma bank in August, has disappeared from his mother's house
in Canada where he was under house arrest.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have issued an arrest warrant for Sommer,
and the FBI is on the lookout as well in case Sommer decides to re-enter the
U.S., said assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Dion.
"They are confident he has fled," Dion said. "They are going to do
everything they can to find him."
So far, seven people have been charged in connection with the robbery of the
Bank of America branch on South Tacoma Way, including five former Rangers
based at Fort Lewis.
Christel Davidsen, Sommer's mother, said her son disappeared sometime
Wednesday morning, after celebrating his 21st birthday with family and
friends Tuesday night.
Sommer is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. He was born in Kelowna, B.C., and
grew up in nearby Peachland, where Davidsen still lives.
Sommer traveled to Canada the night of the Tacoma robbery and was arrested
in Westbank, B.C., a few days later.
Sommer has been fighting extradition to the U.S. ever since. He was
scheduled for an extradition hearing July 10, Dion said.
The government has alleged in court papers that Sommer's motive for the
robbery was to raise funds to start a crime family to rival the Hell's
Angels for control of the drug trade in the Kelowna, B.C., area.
Sommer told The Seattle Times in December that his motive was, instead, to
gain notoriety that he could use to expose war crimes by U.S. troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan. The Army has said an investigation found no evidence to
support Sommer's claims.
Sommer said goodnight to his mother and her husband about 12:30 a.m.
Wednesday, Davidsen said, and she has not seen him since.
"I have no idea where he is," Davidsen said Friday.
Davidsen said her son, who goes by his middle name of Elliot, gave her no
indication he was planning to leave and took little with him.
"You would never have known he was gone, just from looking around the
house," Davidsen said.
Sommer was not acting erratically, Davidsen said, and she does not believe
her son is a safety risk.
"He really isn't by nature a violent guy," Davidsen said. "I don't think
that's his frame of mind. I don't see him as being over the edge."
Davidsen's words are reassuring, but the manner in which Sommer and his
colleagues carried out the Tacoma robbery left an ominous impression.
Shortly before 5:15 p.m. Aug. 7, a silver Audi A4 pulled up behind the bank.
Four masked men sheathed in body armor got out and stormed the building.
One of the robbers leaped a glass barrier and collected cash. Another put a
gun to a teller's head and ordered her to open the vault. Two armed with
AK-47s kept watch.
Two minutes and 21 seconds later, they left with $54,011.
The FBI would later say the robbery was carried out with "military-style
precision and planning."
Alex Blum and Chad Palmer, who served alongside Sommer in C Company, 2nd
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, have pleaded guilty to taking part in the
robbery. Blum told the court he served as the getaway driver and Palmer
admitted to keeping watch inside the bank.
Tigra Robertson of Kelowna and Nathan Dunmall of Chilliwack, B.C., two
friends of Sommer's, also have pleaded guilty to taking part in the robbery,
although Robertson is still contesting certain firearms charges in
connection with the case.
Former Ranger Scott Byrne pleaded guilty to helping plan the robbery. A
fifth former Ranger, Richard Olinger, pleaded guilty to storing hand
grenades and homemade explosives for Sommer.
Davidsen said her son had been discussing a possible plea agreement with the
government.
Dion declined to comment on Davidsen's assertion.
On June 7, Judith Mandel, a Tacoma attorney, was appointed by the court to
represent Sommer in the U.S., after Sommer had written the court requesting
a lawyer with federal court experience, Mandel said.
Since then, Mandel has had discussions with the government on Sommer's
behalf, but she said it would be "going a little too far" to characterize
them as plea discussions.
Davidsen said she and her son had grown frustrated with Mandel and her
approach to Sommer's case.
"It was like she was working for the [U.S. Attorney's] Office instead of
[for] Elliot," she said.
Davidsen said she did not know if those frustrations prompted her son to
flee, but she is not expecting him to return anytime soon.
"I have a good idea that unless he gets caught, it could be a heck of a long
time before I see him," Davidsen said.
David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724

Sommner it is alleged planned to challenge the Hell's Angels for control of
the drug trade in Kamloops. Seems like a very violent and dangerous man
despite what his Mom has to say. Too bad he and his buddies didn't serve
their country honourably in the Middle East.