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Writer's pictureRobin Lyons

Murder at the Movie Theater



This murder/robbery crime remains an open case. The FBI have been looking for this suspect for 17 years.


The suspect was a showboat, liked to appear as though he had money—lots of it. In reality, he had little money. Because of his true financial status—defaulted on car loans, boat loans, houses and rental agreements—the authorities believe money was the motive for a brazen murder and robbery in broad daylight.


Witnesses reported they’d seen him ‘casing’ the movie theater days before the crime and that he’d seemed to watch the sequence of events when the armored car was at the theater picking up the weekend receipts.


On a Monday, in 2004, while one armored car officer went inside the theater, the other stayed inside the cab of the armored vehicle, as per employer rules.


When the officer who’d been inside walked outside, the suspect ambushed him and shot him five times in the head, then left him for dead. The assailant yanked the bag of money from the officer's clenched hand and fled on a bicycle. An FBI special agent from the local bureau said,


“It was an assassination.”

Investigating officers quickly found the bicycle, pulled fingerprints and tracked the suspect to a hotel where he’d been staying. They were and continue to be one-step behind him.


Here’s a link to the FBI Most Wanted profile on this person. JASON DEREK BROWN — FBI They note he could easily blend into society. Have you seen him?


His sister authored a memoir about her family, Center of Attention, and cooperates with the search for her brother. In a podcast interview on FBI Retired Case File Review with retired special agent Jeri Williams, his sister said she believes her brother is still alive. If the case interests you, listen to this podcast where Jeri interviews the FBI agent who led the investigation until he retired and the suspect’s sister. https://jerriwilliams.com/episode-231-lance-leising-jason-derek-brown-fbi-most-wanted-fugitive/


The suspect’s brother hasn’t been as cooperative as his sister. A few years after the crime, the FBI charged the brother with obstruction of justice for tampering with evidence when he had a vehicle which the FBI believed to be what the suspect drove away from the hotel, cleaned and detailed. A judge sentenced him to three years of probation.


The evidence against the suspect is substantial. He frequented the west coast and has also spent time in France and speaks fluent French. He’s an avid golfer, and when younger, enjoyed snowboarding and skiing. You’d most likely see him driving an expensive vehicle. He’ll standout and blend in, those who know him won’t suspect he’s wanted for murder. The FBI also cautions that they consider him to be extremely dangerous. The FBI special agent who led the search until his retirement said,


“The FBI will not stop looking for him, [local law enforcement] will not stop looking for him. He has to be getting help from somebody. He is not the type of personality that can just live in the middle of nowhere by himself for 17 years.”

If the authorities suspected your sibling of committing a serious crime, would your decision to help them flee be difficult? #truecrime #FBImostwanted #mostwanted


Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI - Retired Case File Review with Jeri Williams, East Valley Tribune, Fox News, NBC12News, ABC15


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