U.S. v. Reiswitz

• Decision Date: 15 August 1991
• Docket Number: No. 88-1306,88-1306
• Citation: 941 F.2d 488
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert J. REISWITZ, Sr. a/k/a Ronald Beauchamp, a/k/a Meatball, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 488

941 F.2d 488

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert J. REISWITZ, Sr. a/k/a Ronald Beauchamp, a/k/a Meatball, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 88-1306.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued Feb. 28, 1991.

Decided Aug. 15, 1991.

Mel S. Johnson, Patricia J. Gorence, Elsa Lamelas, Matthew L. Jacobs, and Steven M. Biskupic, argued, Asst. U.S. Attys., Office of the U.S. Atty., Milwaukee, Wis., for plaintiff-appellee.

Mary E. Gentile, argued, Chicago, Ill., for defendant-appellant.

Before BAUER, Chief Judge, and CUDAHY and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

BAUER, Chief Judge.

A popular school composition theme is, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." If he cared to, Robert John "Meatball" Reiswitz could have written a lengthy essay describing his activities during the summer of 1987. He and his pals robbed a few dozen Wisconsin convenience stores, gas stations, a tavern, and held up five banks at least seven times. This saga began when Reiswitz ran into his old prisonmate John Charles Fox. Between May 10 and July 4, 1987, Reiswitz and Fox engaged in a crime wave in the Milwaukee area. Reiswitz's role was to identify the businesses to be robbed, take care of the guns used in the robberies, and drive the getaway car.

Having warmed up on small businesses, Reiswitz and Fox switched over to robbing banks. Reiswitz selected Reliance Savings and Loan for a hit on July 3. He and Fox drove around the building, then Fox entered and robbed it. Reiswitz drove the getaway car. A week later, on July 10, Reiswitz dropped off Fox in an alley next to Reliance Savings. Fox robbed the bank yet again and left by the rear door, where he was met by Reiswitz in the getaway car. Reiswitz and Fox next took on the Marshall and Ilsley ("M & I") Bank. This time, Reiswitz's role was to distract anyone tailing Fox. This task prove unnecessary, and Reiswitz and Fox split the proceeds. Perhaps emboldened by their success thus far, Reiswitz developed a strategy for a second M & I caper. Fox was to enter the bank with a .22. Upon leaving with the loot, he was to get in his car and pursue an elusive route to the interstate. Reiswitz was to follow and signal to Fox if the coast was clear. If it was, Reiswitz was to take the lead. This particular plan went off without a hitch.

These crimes serve as a prologue for the events that led to this appeal. In early July 1987, Reiswitz and Fox met up with Martha Rose Coffman, who lived just across the border in New Albany, Indiana. (Reiswitz and Fox lived in Louisville, Kentucky.) She was a 43-year-old widow with an eighth grade education who earned $275 a month working twelve hour shifts in a nursing home. Six nights a week, she was a cocktail waitress at a bar called Wendall's. To boot, she supported a 22-year-old retarded son, Mick Lugar. Reiswitz and Fox strolled into Wendall's on Coffman's first day on the job. After learning that Coffman was tired of being broke, Reiswitz asked her if she would like to make some "big money" by robbing banks. About three weeks later, Coffman agreed. Shortly thereafter, Reiswitz, Coffman, Mick, and Gary Reed, who lived with Coffman, drove Reed's blue Pinto station wagon to Milwaukee. Reiswitz and Coffman left Mick and Reed in a park and headed straight for a bank. They were afraid to do anything, however, because there was a marked police car in the rear parking lot. They subsequently tried to rob a liquor store, but the doors automatically locked and Reiswitz had to kick his way out. Even though they could not accomplish what they came for, Reiswitz used the opportunity to offer Coffman instruction in the art of pulling a proper getaway.

Their robbery attempts foiled, Reiswitz and Coffman needed money to get home, so they picked up Reed and Mick and drove to a parking lot. Reiswitz instructed Reed and Mick to remove the Pinto's Indiana license plates and exchange them with Wisconsin plates stolen from a vehicle in the lot. Reiswitz then made Reed and Mick lie down on the floor of the car, and he and Coffman proceeded to a Cub Foods combination gas station and grocery store. Reiswitz told Coffman to move up the car when she saw him leaving the service station and to leave a door open for a quick getaway. Reiswitz entered, and, at gunpoint, threw a bag at the 17-year-old high school student who worked there part-time. He ordered her to put money in the bag, which she did. After the hold-up, Reiswitz jumped in the car and Coffman drove away. Coffman's reliability as a gun moll firmly established, the gang left Wisconsin.

A couple of days later, Reiswitz held "class" in his room at the Alamo Plaza Court Motel in Louisville. He instructed Coffman and Fox how to enter a bank, where to stand, and how to exit. Reiswitz warned Coffman to keep her mouth shut so that her southern accent would not give her away. He told Fox and Coffman what to do if a teller did not fork over the money fast enough. They were to put a gun to the teller's head and fire in the opposite direction to scare the other tellers into thinking that their coworker had been shot.

Taking the state slogan, "Escape to Wisconsin" perhaps too seriously, on July 27, the newly educated Fox and Coffman drove to Milwaukee in a blue and white Cougar equipped with a CB. The car had another optional feature as well: two guns under the front seat. During the ride north, they were always in sight of Reiswitz, who drove a CB-equipped motorcycle. The three stopped at the Russell Road exit of I-94, where Reiswitz took Fox and Coffman through a robbery plan step-by-step. Reiswitz was to stay in front of the getaway car after the robbery if no one was following the gang. If there was a tail, Reiswitz would remain behind and blink his lights as a signal. He then would guide them through their escape plan over the CB radio. Afterward, everyone was to reassemble at the Russell Road truck stop.

Reiswitz led Fox and Coffman to the North Shore Savings and Loan Association and showed them how to park. According to plan, Reiswitz remained outside while Fox and Coffman robbed the bank at gunpoint. Afterwards, Reiswitz, Coffman, and Fox met at the Russell Road truck stop, where Reiswitz offered a critique of Fox and Coffman's "performance." They divided up the booty, drank coffee, and ate before returning to Indiana and Kentucky.

A short time later, the group gathered in Reiswitz's motel room to rehearse the next robbery. Fox had panicked during the last foray, so Reiswitz warned him to get "the crap out of his head and keep his mind on what he was doing." Trial Transcript ("Trial Tr.") at 119. Reiswitz warned the others to watch out for "dye bands" used by banks to identify stolen cash. He informed Coffman that he would get her a gun that worked in lieu of the one she had used for the North Shore job, which was rigged not to fire. On July 30, Fox, Coffman, and Reiswitz returned to Milwaukee to rob the Republic Savings and Loan. The trio again assembled at the Russell Road truck stop to settle last-minute details. Clear on what they were supposed to do, Fox and Coffman entered the bank. This time, Coffman had a gun that worked--a .22 that Reiswitz had given her. As the robbers made their way out of the bank, Reiswitz instructed them over the CB that he had lost a white car that had been following them. He told them to go directly to the Russell Road truck stop, and that "he'd take care of the rest." Trial Tr. at 127. As before, Reiswitz, Fox, and Coffman divided the money before going back home.

Soon afterward, Coffman learned that Reed had confided to a friend about the Cub Foods service station robbery. Coffman told Reiswitz, and he instructed her to bring Reed to the Alamo Motel. There, Reiswitz put gun in Reed's mouth and cocked the hammer back. Reed confessed that he had done some talking, so Reiswitz and Coffman drove him out into the country and gave him the choice of either being shot or driving the getaway car at future robberies. With very little room to maneuver, Reed opted for the latter. The very next day, August 6, Coffman, Fox, and Reed drove to Wisconsin in Reed's Pinto, which was now equipped with a CB. Again, Reiswitz followed along on his motorcycle. Back at their usual Russell Road haunt, Reiswitz drew a map of the layout of Republic Savings. The map depicted nearby streets, tellers' windows, and an escape route. Reiswitz also drew in the relative positions of the Milwaukee Police and Sheriff's Departments. Reiswitz told Reed where to park, and gave him instructions on how to leave the bank. He reminded Coffman that, if the tellers did not move fast enough, she was to put the gun up to their heads, let it go off, and act like she hit them. This bit of advice proved disastrous for Coffman. During the robbery, she tried to act on Reiswitz's instructions, but instead shot herself in the arm. Reiswitz advised her not to seek medical attention to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities, but she disobeyed. The FBI traced her to a hospital within two days of the robbery. When Reiswitz learned from Reed what had happened, he demanded that Reed get him the guns that were in the Coffman-Reed apartment.

The crime spree finally ended in a shoot-out at the North Shore Savings and Loan. On the evening of August 10, Fox and Reed drove to Wisconsin in Reed's Pinto. Reiswitz followed in a separate automobile. Reiswitz told Reed to drive to North Shore Savings, let Fox out, and pull up even with the doors until Fox came out. Fox held up the bank, but while doing so, he was observed by Milwaukee police officer Jerald Terek. The officer ordered Fox to stop. Fox pointed his gun at Terek, prompting the officer to open fire along with other police officers at the scene. The officers arrested Fox and Reed, who were both injured in the melee. When the police busted Reiswitz in front of his girlfriend's house on August 20, he was driving the CB-equipped motorcycle and was armed with a loaded gun...