New York Jury Finds Man Guilty of Credit Union Robbery-Murder
DNA evidence convicts Robert Leon Wilbern, who fatally shot a credit union member.
A federal jury found Richard Leon Wilbern guilty Friday for the 2003 murder of a credit union member during a branch robbery in Rochester, N.Y.
DNA evidence taken from the robbery scene at the former Xerox Federal Credit Union branch in Webster, N.Y., apparently convinced a jury of Wilbern’s responsibility for the robbery and fatal shooting of Raymond Batzel, who was a member of Xerox Federal Credit Union, which is now the $886 million Xceed Financial Credit Union based in El Segundo, Calif. Another member, Joseph Doud, was shot and injured but survived.
The fatal robbery case that shocked the Rochester community went cold for 13 years, but it was never forgotten.
Finally, in September 2016, the FBI and federal prosecutors announced they solved the cold case with DNA samples, which matched Wilbern’s DNA. The samples were collected from an umbrella that the suspect left behind in the branch.
Wilbern’s defense attorneys, however, argued that the government’s case was circumstantial and that the specific DNA testing the feds conducted to charge their client is unreliable.
On August 12, 2003, Wilbern walked into Xerox FCU on the Xerox Corporation campus at 800 Phillips Road in Webster, N.Y. He was wearing a dark blue nylon jacket with the letters “FBI” written in yellow on the back of the jacket, sunglasses and a wig. He also carried a large briefcase, a green and gray-colored umbrella and had what appeared to be a United States Marshals badge hanging on a chain around his neck, federal investigators said.
He stepped into the cubicle of a female employee and told her that he was there to conduct a security assessment and to “stage” a robbery.
After taking out a handgun and a sawed-off shotgun from a briefcase, Wilbern ordered employees and members to lie down on the floor. While doing so, he confronted Batzel, who had just finished a banking transaction with a teller.
After a brief verbal altercation, Wilbern fatally shot Batzel, according to the federal investigation. Doud witnessed the shooting as he entered the credit union. When he turned to run back outside, the suspect shot Doud in the back.
While he held a gun in the air, he instructed credit union employees to fill a bag with cash. He grabbed about $10,000 and fled the credit union leaving behind his DNA on the umbrella that led to his conviction.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for February. The 59-year-old Wilbern may be sentenced to life in prison.