Real Name: Thomas George Harrelson
Aliases: None known
Wanted For: Bank Robbery
Missing Since: November 26, 1986
Case[]
Details: Twenty-eight-year-old Thomas Harrelson is a member of the Neo-Nazi group "Aryan Nations." His fiancee's father is an outspoken white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader. He is wanted for several bank robberies in multiple states, including Illinois and Indiana. The proceeds of these robberies are believed to be used to carry out terrorist activities. He had previously served time in California for a 1981 bank robbery. On August 1, 1986, he robbed the First National Bank in Rossville, Illinois. Following the robbery, he was involved in a shootout with a police officer. Fortunately, no one was injured. However, he was able to elude capture.
Extra Notes:
- This case originally aired on the January 20, 1987 Special #1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries hosted by Raymond Burr in an FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List along with Leo Koury, Donald Eugene Webb, Victor Gerena, Claude Dallas, James Dyess, Danny Weeks, and Robert Litchfield.
- It was excluded from the FilmRise release of Robert Stack episodes.
Results: Captured. On February 9, 1987, Harrelson was arrested after he and two accomplices robbed the Drayton State Bank in eastern North Dakota of $2,807. The arrest was made after a bank employee chased the trio, who had taken a family of four hostage. After the police became involved, they surrendered peacefully.
Two months later, Harrelson pleaded guilty to the robberies in North Dakota and Illinois, along with others in Indiana, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Ohio. He was sentenced to seventeen years for the Illinois robbery, another seventeen years for the North Dakota robbery, and fifteen years for each of the charges in the four other states, which ran concurrently with the North Dakota sentence. Harrelson also served time in federal prison for his role in the robberies. He was released from there on March 24, 2003.
Links:
- Thomas Harrelson on the FBI Website
- FBI Links Bank Robbery Suspect to Racist Aryan Nations Group - August 18, 1986
- Neo-Nazi is Focus of Searching by FBI - August 18, 1986
- Suspect in Bank Robberies One of FBI’s Most Wanted - November 30, 1986
- Man Arrested For Bank Robbery On FBI Fugitives List - February 20, 1987
- Suspected white supremacist to face bank robbery charges - February 24, 1987
- Alleged Supremacist Indicted On Bank Robbery Charges - April 21, 1987