Crime & Safety
Farmington Hills Serial Bank Robber Could Get 80 Years
Admitting to a bank-robbery spree, James Radigan said he himself had been robbed five years ago and suffers from PTSD as a result. He was arrested in April after his girlfriend said she recognized his picture on a police department Facebook page.
A Farmington Hills man could face up to 80 years in prison when he’s sentenced in November on charges that he robbed three banks in Ohio and one in Indiana.
Jason Radigan, 39, pled guilty to the heists in federal court in Toledo Friday, The Toledo Blade reports. The robberies occurred between January and April.
Before he entered his pleas, Radigan told U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Helmick doctors had diagnosed him with post traumatic stress disorder about five years ago after he was robbed.
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“And you were traumatized by that?” Helmick asked.
“Yes,” Radigan said.
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When Radigan is sentenced in November, he faces up to 80 years in prison for robbing two banks in Toledo, one in Perrysburg, OH, and another in Angola, IN. In all, he got away with nearly $11,500.
He was arrested on April 12 in Colorado.
Radigan reportedly shared details of his bank-robbery spree with a brother in Michigan who then cooperated with Livonia police in the investigation, The Oakland Press reports.
His girlfriend had reportedly turned him in after seeing Facebook photos, NBC, Channel 24, said.
Radigan’s former girlfriend, Alexandra Willoughby, saw photos of her then boyfriend on the Toledo Police Department Facebook page, she told WNWO, Channel 24, of Toledo.
Willoughby said she and Radigan had begun a relationship about the time the robberies were occurring after having met through the Michigan social club she helped create called The Detroit Dimez, which caters to plus-size singles.
She said after his arrest in April that he had only a small role with the club and didn’t manage its finances.
At the time, Toledo Police Sgt. Kevin Braun said social media is making it difficult for criminals to fly under the radar.
"For the bad guys, it's a tough spot to be in because when we put your picture out there, you got, in the case of our Facebook 23-some-odd-thousand people immediately looking for you,” he told WNWO. “So, I would never want to be a criminal, but I really wouldn't want to be a criminal now.”
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