Hosted by Back at Warrens later that afternoon, the boys were transfixed by local coverage of the Transy Book Heist. According to the news, it appeared that neither Gooch nor anyone else was able to provide the police with an accurate description of the boys. Bam. Only by committing a felony could they ensure that they would never end up living back in the sterile, suburban world of the subdivisions. Meanwhile, Eric lined up the G.T.A.V. Gicle print on Hahnemuhle Photo Paper (Matt 210gr) 2021 Limited edition of 25, all prints are signed and numbered. Eric would stay on the main floor while Warren subdued Gooch in the Rare Book Room. In exchange, Barry slipped him an e-mail address with instructions to sign off any communication with the name Terry. from an unsuspecting friend and got his hands on zip ties, a wool cap, electrician's tape, and bedsheets. He covered his tracks by using public phones and campus computers. When summer break began, the three returned home to the subdivisions of South Lexington. Frightened and alone in an unfriendly neighborhood and weighed down with priceless books, Warren and Eric barreled down the street, frantically trying to hail a police cruiser to rescue them. Like if we ever get caught, were talking about international issues, way past interstate commerce or whatever the hell it is.. Along the way a stoned Spencer read aloud from the purloined first edition of On the Origin of Species, particularly fascinated by the section on how the ears of domesticated animals have drooped over generations due to the disuse of the muscles of the ear from the animals not being much alarmed by danger.. By that point Warren, Eric, and Spencer knew for certain they were going down. Just days before their arrests the three even took in a movie: Oceans 12. [Beckman] said, B.J., a nickname her friends and colleagues used for her, she told officers. I took my zip ties and I put them around her feet and put them around her arms. It was about at that point that Gooch remembers Warren saying, Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain?. . And I pledged a fraternity, but I really didnt get into that too much. Spencer would communicate with Warren from a cell phone, which Warren would steal from a student in the morning. The next morning, all nerves, he left for the meeting site, a caf within walking distance. As they ran, they stumbled again into Chas, who had returned in another car as promised, just in time to save them and drive Eric to U.K. for his tennis-class exam. There were all sorts of theories as to why they had done it: they were drug addicts; they had amassed large gambling debtsor Lipka's father had, and the boys did it to save the family's honor (the variant most popular with the local papers). On the second-floor landing, Chas, in high-end flannel pajamas and thinking they were being robbed, pulled out a derringer, only to drop the weapon at the last moment. is parked in front of the library and the four are in 1st Position at bottom of stairs of library.. After prison I took up a casual interest in birds. We live in 10 months of the year in Colombia and spend two in the States. As she inspected the items, Halloran dutifully took notes, then asked a few questions regarding their provenance, which Spencer answered as best he could under the circumstances. Spencers life story and his practice are indelibly linked, thus the works he has created are a highly personal meditation on the journey Spencer Reinhard experienced. The painting, in digital form, would become a popular screen saver on the F.B.I. It was during his studies at Transylvania University that Spencer became aware of John James Audubons work, The Birds of America. Warren made an appraisal appointment at Christie's in New York for Walter Beckman, a pseudonym inspired by the soccer star David Beckham. Number one on that list was failure to create a business plan. Remembering Distinguished Jamaicans Cabinet ministers of 1955 and 1959, Tricia Nicholas makes a mark in corporate governance , Brazil reckons with artistic treasures ruined in riot, A reporter at a dying paper solves a serial murder, ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and collapse of creative process, Set goals and appropriate their manifestation, Looted ancient sarcophagus returned to Egypt, Heres how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change, Digital Archives: Online editions 2006-Now. This ultimately led to the life changing events chronicled in the 2018 film American Animals. Phase 3 is the escape, which involves switching the G.T.A.V. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. Ad Choices. Well all be . Spencer assembled a small wardrobe of fake beards, gray wigs, and costume glue. In the early evening, they say they smoked some celebratory Kentucky Bluegrass weed they had stashed away for the occasion. When the four boys were arrested the news was met with disbelief, as none of them had been in any serious trouble before. (Throughout the interviews with the three, it became clear that Chas was the odd man out among the group. After a brief discussion they chose Chas Allen, a handsome, clean-cut U.K. business major who had started the lawn-care company with Eric the previous summer. She offered to take his place. into a perfect parking space and watched as Eric and Warren entered the library. We had a few pitchers, feeling each other out. That night Chas snapped, they say, fearing the Christies book appraisalthe Jesus bolt holding Warrens entire heist plan togetherwas in danger of falling through. On the morning of December 17, 2004, Betty Jean Gooch, a librarian in the Special Collections Library at Transylvania University, in Lexington, Kentucky, was preparing for her 11 oclock appointment with Walter Beckman, a man she had never met. Again, Warren thought otherwise. When I get up there, B.J. As she was heading toward a display case, Gooch felt a tingling on her right arm and collapsed to the floor. He covered his tracks by using public phones and campus computers. Who do we trust?. (Because Spencer was a Transy student, he risked being recognized in the library.) believing that they had escaped with next to nothing. I want to say living that kind of lifethe country clubs, sitting in a classroom and listening to two girls argue about turning down a BMW S.U.V. Late one Thursday afternoon in mid-February, the two friends bought a bag of weed and drove the 700 miles to Manhattan in Spencers Acura Legend. When the four boys were arrested the news was met with disbelief, as none of them had been in any serious trouble before. They're all slim and dressed identically in cheap sneakers and a khaki uniform emblazoned with their incarceration numbers, and all have hair down to their shoulders. American Animals is a 2018 heist film written and directed by Bart Layton.Starring Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, and Ann Dowd, it follows four college friends who plan a heist of their library.It tells the story of an actual heist which took place at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky in 2004.. American Animals premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film . agents were sitting behind them the whole time, listening to their every word. They think we have [the books]. Spencer had underestimated his friends resolve. When Halloran inquired about them, Spencer spoke up and offered to fetch them from the car. The books were much heavier than the boys had projected, and the pair could handle only three at a time. The L.P.D. The boys readily agreed, and she escorted them through the offices to a small conference room. Though she couldn't recall much else about her assailants, one odd detail stood out. Phase 2 ends when the loot is loaded into the G.T.A.V. They stuffed some of the smaller books Gooch had pulled out for them into their backpacks. The Real Spencer Reinhard : To have this, this need to know what is on the other side of that line, and realizing the only way to actually do that is to cross it, there's never a point in your life after that where you haven't already crossed that line. My world view actually expanded. She also said that she was so suspicious and put off by the young mens youth and demeanor that she had recommended to her boss that they not pursue the business. The fourth, Charles Chas Allen II, had been transferred to a federal medical center in Lexington.) We can do a license, but now we need a passport. So he says, Come see me in a couple of days or a week, but I need money, $2,500. All right, you know, just another thing, O.K., 2,500 bucks. What they would tell me, then, is their version of eventsand the only complete account of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the heist. How the hell would we do this? And he said, I know a guy in New York.. Thanks for the on my post. The contact, who identified himself only as Barry, stipulated that Warren had to bring $500 in good-faith money. For example, if you want to go on a vacation, you should first decide where you are going and how much money you have . Warren, under an alias, would make an appointment with Gooch for that afternoon to view the books they wanted to steal. His malaise was likely exacerbated by his parents' impending divorce amid his mother's allegations that his father, Big Warren, the celebrated coach of the university's women's soccer team, had gambled the family into bankruptcy. By far the most common theory around town was that the heist had been just a frat prank that spun way out of control. As she inspected the items, Halloran dutifully took notes, then asked a few questions regarding their provenance, which Spencer answered as best he could under the circumstances. Just days before their arrests the three even took in a movie: Ocean's 12. Returning five minutes later with a rolling red suitcase in tow, Spencer opened it on the conference table. The severity of the requested sentences was predicated on the dual propositions that, although the Audubon volumes had never been physically removed from the library, according to the letter of the law they were nonetheless stolenincreasing the monetary value of the crimeand that the Black Cobra Stun Pen used to subdue B. J. Gooch not only inflicted physical harm but was in actuality a dangerous weapon. Worse still for the defendants, B. J. Gooch's ordeal had become a cause clbre among librarians, many of whom wrote letters to the judge arguing against leniency. Um. We weren't, like, hardened criminals, so we kind of had to really put up a front. Warren deepens his voice: How ya doing? That kind of stuff. After an awkward back-and-forth, Warren finally handed the man the $500. And then they came up with the issue of getting these appraised. [Beckman] said, B.J., a nickname her friends and colleagues used for her, she told officers. I'd heard about them before, but I didn't know anything about them. onto nearby Fourth Street and careened through traffic before stopping a mile farther on, in front of a predominantly black housing project. The untold story of the Transy Book Heist is one part Ocean's 11, one part Harold & Kumar: four Kentucky college kids who had millions to gain and nothing to lose. Mr. Beckman now wanted these books appraised. He focused above all on painting, gaining admission into a prestigious Lexington arts program. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to a Lexington Catholic alumnus who was making an easy living in identity theft. Behind the main building and through three blastproof security doors is the prison visitors' room, where I meet separately with Likpa, Reinhard, and Borsuk for a series of interviews almost a year into their sentence. They got security around that? Nonchalantly, very nonchalantly, I mean, just kind of shooting it between us. Pink, in this case to Chas. With each taking one end of the Audubons, they made their way to the staff-only elevator. Jean Smarts Career Timeline: I Dont Take Any of It for Granted, Donald Trump Calls E. Jean Carroll Rape Lawsuit a Hoax And A Lie; Judge Rules Suit Can Proceed, The former president continues to deny knowing the writer, calling her mentally sick., James Marsden Is Still Hoping for a Happy Ending for Canceled, Jeremy Renner Shares Selfie from Hospital Bed After Snow Plow Accident. We figured, All right, well, now we just got what we thought would be impossible possibly taken care of, Spencer tells me. In the weeks following the book heist, law enforcement followed leads at Transy and reviewed countless hours of security footage from the U.K. computer lab, to which a police technician had traced the e-mail from Walter Beckman to Gooch. Nothing panned out until mid-January, when, following a federal subpoena, Yahoo delivered all the data on its servers related to the walter.beckman@yahoo.com address. Warren had been convinced after spotting a suspicious man loitering near the yellow bungalowwhen he stepped outside, the man disappeared into an unmarked white van with tinted windows and sped off. Like, they were doing something serious, talking about the heist, going over the plan, and somebody would make a joke. We told B.J. Whilst Spencers life path may have been unorthodox at times one can only but admire what it has led him to. But after stewing in the magnitude of the potential dollar amount involved, and once convinced of the ease of the heist, the logic of the appraisal, and the legitimacy of Warrens Amsterdam connections, they say, he threw his lot in with the others. When she asked for contact information, Spencer gave her his cell-phone number. The phone number was registered to a Gary Reinhard of Lexington, Kentucky. They surveyed the offices of the campus police. Quit struggling, B.J., or do you want to feel more pain? she remembered the man saying. The truth is, but for one obvious, big mistakethe trip to Christie'sthey probably would have gotten away with it, a Lexington police detective told me. Spencer Reinhard and Warren Lipka had grown up together in adjacent subdivisions on Lexingtons south sidefully planned residential tracts wedged in between the city and the gradually receding horse country that rings it. Pink, in this case to Chas. Jamaica has been great so far. I still feel like I have a long way to go to reach my full potential, and I think Jamaica will be an integral step in that direction., American visual artist Spencer Reinhard, an artist-in-residence at Blue Macaw in Boscobel, St. Mary, The ornithologist in Spencer Reinhard takes gaze. Faced with overwhelming evidence, they all eventually confessed. Improvising on the plan, he kicked Eric and Warren out on the street, believing three men in a gray minivan would draw too much attention. you know, it's. it was. 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