Employees Arrested for Wal-Mart Heist

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - December 3, 2006 (WPVI) -- Police with the aid of Federal Authorities are out trying to serve a search warrant in hopes of tracking down the fourth man wanted in connection with the Northeast Philly Wal-Mart heist.

Meanwhile, some disturbing questions for Wal-Mart. The two managers wrapped up in this case had criminal histories. Did the company even bother to do background checks, perhaps avoiding a very embarrassing and potential loss of a quarter of a million dollars?

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said, "Actually that's a no-brainer. Today, everybody does it, we do it in the office, we won't hire a clerk without a full legal background check."

Monday night, two Wal-Mart assistant managers are locked up as well as one of the alleged gunmen, 30-year-old Nakia Rigney who turned himself in late Monday. Still at large is the other gunman involved in the heist of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars from the vault in the Wal-Mart in Northeast Philadelphia.

Investigators say the plotters, including 33-year-old Bruce Johnson a Wal-Mart asst. manager in Cherry Hill, tried to make it look like a run of the mill robbery overnight. They even held a gun to the head of 25-year-old Steven Patton, the asst. manager on duty. But for police, it smelled like an inside job from the get-go.

"During this lunch break, the asst. manager opened the door and let the gunmen in. They were wearing Wal-Mart smocks," said Chief Insp. Joseph Fox.

Police say the armed suspects duct taped both Patton and another employee again to make it look like something other than an inside job. But authorities say the plotters didn't think through another part of the crime, and didn't wear masks, while surveillance cameras recorded everything.

Abraham added, "They had to know about the surveillance system, what were they thinking."

Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said, "You know the funny part is that they're all working, they're managers, they should be examples to their employees, instead they go out and rob their employee's and rob the people that they work for, I think it's a disgrace."

Turns out, Asst. Manager Bruce Johnson has had prior arrests for aggravated assault and firearms violations. The other manager, Steven Patton, also had arrests for weapons offenses.

"We hope the company takes a lesson from this that you can't draw any hard and fast rules but they have to be more thoughtful about whom they hire and why," said Abraham.

Wal-Mart had no comment Monday night. Bruce Johnson is facing some heavy prison time for federal firearms trafficking charges as well as charges related to this heist. Both he and Patton are being held in lieu of 250 thousand cash bail.

Rigney has yet to be arraigned, and again a fugitive task force is on the hunt for the 4th man involved.

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