Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Honor Roll Students Turned Armed Bank Robbers by Greedy Dad

Episode Date: June 12, 2019

Father of two, Scott Catt, recruits his children into a family business of armed bank robberies. 20-year-old Hayden robs the bank with dad, while his teen sister, Abigail, serves as getaway driver. They are both honor roll students and competitive swimmers. So, why did they agree, and how long can they keep from getting caught?Nancy's expert panel weighs in:Vincent Hill:   Private InvestigatorJudge Ashley Willcott:  Judge and Trial attorneyDr. Ryan Fuller: Clinical PsychologistEllen Killoran: Crimeonline.com Investigative Reporter Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Outside, waiting in a getaway car and communicating with the men on walkie-talkie, 18-year-old Abby. Once we walked into the bank that it was on, I was running on so much adrenaline and so amped I wasn't even really feeling anything two individuals walked into the bank and they ordered the tellers and everyone into the vault he was the muscle with the gun and I was the money guy both men are big over 6'3 their sheer size and the gun enough to

terrify customers but it's a novice bank robber who's quaking in his boots. I was actually shaking so bad that the employees grabbed the bag and started throwing money in for me. In Hayden's hands, more money than he'd ever dreamed of. How much does $50,000 weigh? I'd say about 15 pounds. With her garbage bag full of cash, they sprint out of the bank to the getaway car, which has been outfitted with stolen plates. The wheelman, a frightened teenager. I was scared. It's just something you just like want to be over with. A teen girl is part of a vicious bank robbery gang. How the hey did that happen? I guess you'd be pretty surprised like I am when I finally learned that it's all

in the family. That's right. The children recruited by the father to become armed bank robbers. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. You know, I'm constantly thinking, oh, what do I need to do to help the twins? Should I get them a math tutor? Have they been outside enough today? You know what? They have not had five servings of veggies and I know it. What can I possibly do? How can I disguise fruit and vegetables in their drinks? I mean, it goes on. It's constantly twisting and turning in my brain it hadn't occurred to me to Ashley Wilcott judge lawyer anchor you can find her ashywilcott.com that maybe I could get John David and Lucy to join my robbing crew Nancy it's not funny but I'm just sitting here smiling

because here's the truth of the matter, and it's really sad. Desperate measures, right? Desperate measures is what this father took to ever think about involving his children. And who cares their ages? They were above the age of 18 or 18 and older. Who cares? It doesn't matter. You don't involve your children in criminal activity. But clearly a very desperate man.

Well, you know what? To Dr. Ryan Fuller joining us, clinical psychologist and the executive director at New York Behavioral Health. Dr. Fuller, I remember long, long days in the courtroom. You know, you'd be there for 8 a.m., bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with, you know, those white plastic boxes that mail carriers use to deliver mail throughout offices. Okay, everybody knows what they are. No, I did not steal them, okay, because I would never steal. But I did use some that were lying around vacant in the hallways.

Okay, my point is they're the perfect size to put trial folders, those manila folders. And for any given calendar call, there'll be 150 or more individual cases. So I'd be dragging those around the courthouse all day long, getting ready for arraignment calendars or trials, blah, blah. After, I would typically hook up with my best friend girl and we'd get dinner and then I could go home and work some more. I remember it was one of those nights. It was dark by the time I got off of work and I went to a local restaurant. I think it was a Houston's. And out in the parking lot, a lady came up to me holding a baby and said she needed bus fare to get to somewhere. She had the baby. It was not a baby doll. It was real. I looked at it. Of course, I had nothing.

I was a state prosecutor working two night jobs. I think I had like three dollars, seriously, with me. And I gave her everything I had. And I just felt so bad that I didn't have more than that for her. Okay. Out of the blue, the next night, my now husband said, hey, let's go to Houston's and get a chicken salad. I'm like, great. So I went over there. Guess who came up to me in the parking lot? The same woman. This time with a man, a grown man, a woman, and a baby. And I don't know what I was thinking, because I tell my children, if somebody approaches you or even looks you in the eyes in a parking lot, walk away quickly. Honey, I let loose on them like nobody's business about using a child out in a parking lot at that time of night. I don't know what I thought, like what I had on a bulletproof vest. I took them to hell and back about using that baby

and the baby should be at home and whatever. And I immediately called 911 and had them report. I don't know if they actually got them or not to get the baby out of that situation. My point is, children are used. Children are used for the parents' goals. And this is a perfect example of that. Putting your teen children in an armed bank robbery situation.

The victims at the bank and the guards at the bank, they have no idea these are children. Yeah, I think there's no question from the news reports. As Ashley Wilcott just said, I agree. Desperation is even an understatement. You know, it sounds as though this father was experiencing financial problems and grief and worry. And the judgment that was implemented was just unbelievable. There had to be rationalizations where he's thinking no one's getting armed because we're not using real guns. My kids are going to be safe.

We can't possibly get caught. And clearly anyone can recognize that's just not the case. The tellers alone were obviously put at great risk and harmed probably because of the trauma. They don't know the guns that were being used weren't real. So it would make sense that some of them could have horrible emotional and psychological reactions after that. Police officers responding to the scene are speeding to get there as quickly as they can and putting themselves and anyone else on the road at risk. The kids, you know, his children, even though they're adults,

I mean, what would happen to their sense of their own values and morality? And from some of the news reports, clearly, there's a lot of guilt and shame and embarrassment afterwards. And so I just think, you know, it's clear when things become that extreme judgment went out the window and put everyone at risk, even when someone thinks there isn't a chance of people getting hurt. I mean, clearly everyone involved and even customers in the bank were put at risk. Anyone could have started a gunfight at any point. You're so right, because Vincent Hill, cop turned PI, author of Playbook to a Murder on Amazon, Vincent Hill, when Dr. Ryan Fuller says they weren't using real guns, he's right. The teens may not have been using real guns, but I can guarantee you this, Vincent Hill,

the security guards had real guns. If the cops get there in time, they have real guns. What about that? That's right, Nancy. And I can't tell you how many police shootings have occurred by people who had fake guns. Think about Tamir Rice and all these other countless police shootings. And I was in a situation where I almost shot a teen who had a fake gun. So the fact that it was fake, security doesn't know it. Police definitely don't know it. All they know is they're responding to

an armed robbery because even though it's a plastic gun or a fake gun, the intent of the robbery makes it an armed robbery. So police would react with what they think is deadly force. And frankly, as she will cut the law specifically states regarding armed robbery, it is in black and white. The statutory code is that an armed robbery is when you use a weapon or a facsimile thereof. That's what the word fax means. Facsimile. It is a representation of the original document. That's what the law means. You can have a toy gun or something that looks like a gun. It's still treated as an armed robbery. The effect on the victims is the same, Ashley. That's what I was going to say. It's because of the effect on the victim and their perception.

So someone's not going to necessarily know, oh, it's a fake gun. know oh it's a fake gun oh it's a real gun and so the law has to reflect that in order to protect the people that are being robbed and also to make it clear it doesn't matter if you're pretending a gun or not the intent is you're using a deadly weapon to actually steal take a listen to our friends at 2020. he really wanted my help in his mind two people could be much more successful at it. But maybe a third would be even better. And there was just one cat left to choose. Scott told Hayden to talk to his sister into joining their gang.

She was a high school senior, just three months shy of graduating. My dad sent my brother to ask me. Your dad sent your brother to ask you? Yeah. To rob banks with him? Yeah. And then the next day, my dad just basically laid it all out. You know, I'll buy you a new car and I'll get you an apartment. Could you have asked, well, why don't you just give me the money? Why do i have to be a bank robber with you no i never asked i mean it's just in some way i was led on like this is how i protect them and these are the only people i have now son and daughter say this is when they crossed over to the criminal

side a plan was in motion the mark the comerica Comerica Bank, just down the block. The morning of the first bank, I asked my dad, you know, are you the devil here to tempt me? And his answer is what really scared me. He said, yeah, probably. I'm asking you to rob a bank. So he knew full well the world he was bringing you into. The biggest point he made to me was the plan for all the details crime stories with nancy grace in hayden hands, more money than he'd ever dreamed of. How much does $50,000 weigh? I'd say about 15 pounds. With her garbage bag full of cash, they sprint out of the

bank to the getaway car, which has been outfitted with stolen plates. The wheel man, a frightened teenager. I was scared. It's just something you just like want to be over with. And what was it like driving the getaway car? You know, it's hard because you want to obey traffic laws, but your adrenaline is pumping. It was hard. I had them in my ear. My dad would yell at me to not drive fast, so I didn't. Despite the heckling from her backseat driver dad, the reluctant 18-year-old gets them to their apartment, half mile away, undetected. The heist had gone off without a hitch, just like dad had promised. Was there a woo-hoo moment?

That's how we got home. With her sack full of 50 grand, the spending began. Cars, motorcycles, booze, and drugs. Abby's spending, much more sensible. How'd you guys celebrate? I went off on my own and just got my nails done. In fact, the money came so easily and went so fast, within two months they burned through all their loot. Time for another bank job.

You're hearing our buddy Matt Gutman over at 20-20 at ABC. Okay, Ashley Wilkot, let me circle back to you. Wasn't it you that was saying desperate times call for desperate measures is the rest of that quote? Desperate, desperate, desperate. I hardly think that buying new cars and booze for your teen children is desperate. Desperate to me means you can't pay the rent, you're losing your apartment, you've lost your car, and you can't eat. That's what desperate means to me. Your child needs to go to the hospital and you don't have any money. That's desperate. Buying your teen child booze and new cars, that is not desperate as she

will cut. I mean, you're the judge. You know, I'm just a trial lawyer, but I object. That is not desperate. That is greed. The thought of putting your child, your teen girl driving a bank heist getaway car and you, as you will cut, don't make me play it back, said desperate times. That's not desperate. That's greedy. You're right. It is greed. Not only that, but add list to the list of qualities. Excuse me. Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Jackie, can you please just get her saying you're right? Because I'm going to play that over and over and over just whenever I feel like it. Okay. Okay. What were you saying? So add to the list of qualities of this quote unquote father. And yes, it's in quotes because it is not, he is certainly not acting as a father,

but lack of integrity because you're right. If they didn't have food, if they were literally unable to get money to put food in their mouths, that is desperation. This is greed. It is teaching the children, in addition to all the other things already mentioned, in terms of not teaching these children right from wrong. And it's also teaching them, oh, it's okay to take what we want when we want certain things in life that are materialistic

like a new car. You know, I've seen, especially when I was a camp counselor. So many spoiled, rotten, greedy brats. And it's very off-putting. But in this case, it sounds more like the dad is the greedy brat. You know, I want to talk to you, Vincent Hill, cop-turned-PI, author of Playbook to a Murder on Amazon. Vincent, how many times have people been killed in car chases? Probably more than they have been shot down in banks. But think about it. The cops are chasing a car. You've got a teen girl driving the car. You've got the dad in the back seat.

Talk about a backseat driver heckling the girl as she's trying to get away from an armed robbery with a trash bag full of stolen money. And the dad is in the back seat egging her on and attacking her verbally about the way she's driving. He makes the boy go in and steal and the girl drive the getaway. And he's in the backseat laying low. How many people die every month, every week, in getaway cars? Nancy, one of the worst wrecks I ever worked while I was in patrol was a mom and her son who were killed from a car that was fleeing from police. And the sad part about this, Nancy, is typically the person that's fleeing from police

aren't the ones that are injured. It's always the innocent family that just happens to be caught in the crossfire, if you will, of this high speed chase over something so foolish as robbing a bank so you can go buy liquor and cars and all of this stuff, Nancy. But every day in this country, someone is dying. Can I tell you about that, about liquor? You know, the other night I had Lucy. I went to her New Girl Scout troop at our church. It was late at night, and I was just sitting there listening. They were talking about drugs and alcohol.

Speaking of liquor, I learned the other night, once you get hooked on alcohol, you only have a 12% chance of ever getting off of it. With drugs, it's a lot worse. Like with meth, you've got a 3% chance of beating it. I looked over at Lucy. Ashley, you know Lucy very, very well. I looked over at Lucy and they had up the meth face, you know, with the face covered in sores where the people think there's bugs on them and they scratch them off. If you could have seen that child's face, I almost started laughing, but I knew it was too serious to laugh. I think they scared her. So let's just say that I think she'll get through the sixth grade without trying meth. Now, I'm crossing myself right now. But my point is, the bank robbery is the worst

part. The guns, the worst part. But on top of that, when they get the bank money, he gives them liquor. They're teens. This is so screwed up. Ashley, help me. You know, I wish I could help you, Nancy. I'm going to say this, being on the bench and seeing offenses all day long when I'm on the bench, nothing surprises me anymore. This really makes me sick to my stomach because parents are supposed to protect their children, are supposed to instill in their children the things that are right and wrong and how to be kind and how to not break the law. Instead, this person, and again, I'm saying person, not father. This is not a father. This is not a father. This is someone who is not only teaching his children wrong instead of right, he's actually using his children to his advantage by committing crimes

that could have resulted in them even being killed. You know, Ashley, how much do I obsess over the twins? Like, how many times have I cornered you in this parking lot or that parking lot when I spot you and go, do you think band is too much? Because is it going to take too much time away from studying? And what about drama? If they sign up for drama, they got to go to all these practices and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm worried about them going to a drama class and this guy has his kids and a getaway car. How did it all start? Listen.

I lied to him about it. I told him I was going to quit and I didn't. But I did do quite a bit behind their back. And some of it in plain sight. There were arrests, there was brawling, disorderly conduct, and a new more expensive vice, cocaine, he says. I'd say probably three or four grams a week. And the kids often found themselves assuming the roles of parents. There were times when on my lunch break in school that I was going to pay the light bill, and I picked up his clothes from the dry cleaner.

Scott partied away their savings. They went bankrupt. They lost their home. The lights went out. For a fresh start, and Scott says a new job, Cat traded the Oregon greenery for this scenery. An apartment in a Houston suburb with a whole lot of banks nearby. Money was tight and I was really depressed. That's when he approached me and said, would you be willing to do something to get some

money more illegal than selling drugs? And I said, yes. So you're 18 years old. You need money. Your father says, I have a plan to rob a bank. Shouldn't your first reaction be, are you crazy? Looking back on it, I can't believe that wasn't my first reaction to say, are you insane?

Why did you go along with it so easily? I had a real struggle. I knew it was wrong, but I was really motivated by the money. The night before the first bank I was supposed to rob with him, I had kind of a panic attack all night, deciding do I want to go down this path of evil or is this not for me? crime stories with nancy grace time for another bank job the first community credit union just a few miles from the scene

of their first crime before the hit abby cases bank. That's her smiling and grabbing brochures from a bank employee. 11 days later, it's the same drill, new disguises, ditching the painter's overalls for safety vests to blend in with nearby construction. They walked into the bank with orange construction vests on. Did you carry a gun in there?

No, we used a little BB gun. But it looked real. Yeah. I remember a few people's face still. What was their reaction? Total shock. Terror? Yeah, they were scared, terrified, definitely.

Their take after two bank robberies, over $100,000. Holy moly. You're hearing our buddy Matt Gutman over at ABC's 2020 over $100,000 after the first bank robbery. Then suddenly the first hit and then you want some more. Or money. I'm telling you, the love of money, the root of all evil. You get a paycheck and then suddenly you want some more. You want more and more and more. It's feeding the beast. Same thing here. What is it about us humans? Why do we always want more and more of everything? One of the things that came to mind is it almost sounded like someone who has a gambling addiction. And the son, Hayden, actually even described it that way, that it almost felt like an addiction. They

couldn't get enough. And if you see kind of the behavior, you know, they have, they have plans about what they're going to do with the money and they're going to, you know, save it and open a coffee shop, I think was one of the plans. But then as soon as, as soon as they have all this cash in hand, you know, ends up being spent on things that are just sort of short-term fixes to emotional problems and to fear and escaping from reality. And then, unfortunately, they're in the same situation again and put at risk and going back into the casino, the same way a gambler does, rationalizing that this will fix it. And the cycle just continues. But can I ask you a question? And you're going to have to dummy down for me, Dr. Fuller.

Is there something in people's brains? I know they've done all the studies on rats where you give them a little cocaine and then they get addicted and they perform all sorts of experiments on them. I'm not talking about drugs. I'm talking about experiences like gambling, like taking risks, like sexaholics, something that's non-substance related, like robbing banks? Is there some type of an addiction to adrenaline? Is there something physical in your body or your brain that makes you want to keep doing it more and more and more? Yeah, there can be. So one of the first studies I worked on when I was very young in graduate school actually was a casino study, was actually looking at how do

people kind of become addicted and get hooked by slot machines. And these casinos, they actually study this so they can come up with the right amount of money payoff and the right ratio. And so when people are involved in gambling, you would mention, you know, sex addiction and things like that, there's a blast of things like dopamine, all these pleasure centers get lit up. And obviously that feels really good and it's very reinforcing. And if you think about the reality of those people's lives outside of robbing the bank and the big payoff, not a lot of fun. I mean, running from bills and coming back, you know, feeling like you're bankrupt and you're not feeling good about yourself.

And then the next thing you know, you're in this exciting experience, you know, where all of a sudden your brain is being flooded with excitement and all this stuff. Even if there's danger involved, this is a high level of arousal and that can become quite addictive. Wow. Okay.

So dopamine. Joining me right now, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, where you can find this and all other breaking crime and justice news, Ellen Kaloran. Ellen, I need the nuts and bolts of this case. Right now, I only know about a dad really forcing, through the art of persuasion, his children to perform armed bank robberies. Then he declares bankruptcy multiple times because all that money just isn't enough for him. So let's just start at the

beginning. What happened, EK? Well, Nancy, things started off good for Scott Catt. He married his high school sweetheart, Beth. They lived in Oregon in a beautiful home. They had two children. And then tragically, his wife, Beth, got cancer. And she died very young, just two years later, when Abigail was just a baby. And Scott says he just couldn't handle it. He fell apart. He had a good job as a structural engineer, but he was drinking.

He was doing drugs. He was partying. He wasn't being the present father. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. EK, slow down. I'm drinking from the fire hydrant here. You're hitting me with too much too fast. Ellen, don't be surprised that sometimes in law school, with an especially long sentence in one of these Supreme Court rulings, I'd have to read the sentence like three or four times and break it down into parts and then interpret it and write it in the side of the page so I could understand it. I've got to do that with you. I've got to break down what you just said. Now, I get it that he was

married to his high school sweetheart, Beth. They have the children. Then suddenly Beth passes away. The children are babies. And you said he fell apart. But did I just hear you say partying? Because in my mind, grieving for your high school sweetheart turned wife turned mom of your children, partying does not really fit into that scenario for me. Now, did you just say that word partying? Yeah. And I guess probably a better word would be bar crawling. He wasn't celebrating. Number one, technically, technically, that's two words. But bar crawling to me is even worse. I mean, where are your children while you're as you say, bar crawling? Where are the

babies? Where were they? Well, once they were older, they were really on their own. They weren't, they were having to take, when they were teenagers, they were having to pay bills for the home. Okay, wait a minute. Hold on. You're going so fast. I asked you, where were the babies? And suddenly, they're teenagers in your mind, EK, paying bills. Basically, Ashley Wilcott, they were raised like bears in a cave. The father just goes off bar crawling and leaves the children at home. As I used to say to David, those babies ain't going to change their diapers themselves. Get in there.

So, I mean, who's taking care of these children? The mom passes away tragically. She seemed to be the glue that holds the family together. And the dad's out at the bar. Hello? Yeah, he's not raising them. I would suggest that it's not even raising them like bears. He's not raising his children. He is focused on himself, egocentric, doing whatever he wants. He is not raising his children. He's leaving them to raise themselves. Oh, okay. Okay. Not that you have misreported anything. It's me. It's not you. I feel like we're breaking up. It's me, not you. Explain to me again. So let's just pick off before the teens are paying bills. I want to get back to the babies at home alone while dad's at the bar part. The mom passes away. He goes spiraling down. And seriously, I'm kind of like pulling your leg a little bit, EK, because grief takes all

sorts of forms. You can become an alcoholic. You can become depressed and commit suicide. You can go in a sex spiral. You can do all sorts of things you wouldn't normally do had you not lost the person you love. So I'm actually not judging him for the bar crawling, except for the fact that children are at home alone. So they go into a period of mourning, but what happens then? You know what? I'll advance you up to the teen years. What happened? Well, because of the drinking and the excessive spending, even though Scott has a good job, he just, he doesn't feel like enough. He's not, he's not making ends meet like he wants to. And he, his own father worked at a bank and that's

what puts the idea in his mind that maybe he can rob a bank because he remembers as a child, his father coming home from work one day and saying, we were robbed today at the bank. And young Scott says, well, what about the money? And the father says, don't worry, we're insured. So Scott's thinking, even if I take this money from the bank, they're going to get it back. So he's already rationalizing it. I'm not really stealing it at all because they're going to have it replaced. Wow. Okay. So all this really started when the dad was a kid and his dad who worked a bank, comes home and says, we were robbed. That's a yes-no. Did I get that right, E.K.? Great. both honor students and members of the swimming team. So he was doing something right.

Scott Catt was the president of the McMinnville Swim Club Board of Directors. He was very well respected in the community. But then he loses his job again. His house becomes foreclosed. He got connected with a corporate headhunter who specialized in engineering and relocated to Texas. It was then in an entirely new environment. His children drop out of school. Abby goes to live with her grandmother.

Hayden moves to Hawaii to work at a resort. But pretty soon they all paired back up in Texas. They were then living in a middle-class community outside Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, and they appeared to be everyday, harmless, regular people. And Kat was holding down a very well-paying job as an engineer, trying to figure this whole thing out, Abby worked at a mall. Hayden was trying to get established as a concierge in a hotel. And then suddenly, they end up with guns in their hands. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. But the loot isn't exactly divided up evenly, according to the kids.

What percentage were they willing to give you? 10%. Did you feel like 10% was enough? Oh, yeah, because I never even had that much money. For your whole life? Right. $10,000. It was enough for me.

Enough to buy a very practical, used Ford Focus and more of those manicures. I know the part that I played was wrong, but it was my family and the loyalty was greater at that point. But her father and brother seemed more loyal to the cold hard cash that was coming in and to blowing it fast. Shopping, cars, partying, really nothing to show for it. When the comforts of daily life include Jack Daniels, a new Chevy Tahoe, a Harley, and a swank new Houston apartment, even 100 G's can disappear pretty fast. And for the Cat family, that meant one thing, time to go back to work. Had you planned another heist? Yeah, I think we're going to do probably one or two more. That day? Yeah. Welcome back, everybody. A dad, Scott Catt, brings his own children into violent and armed bank robberies. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thanks for being with us.

So, E.K., now you're hearing my buddy over at 20-20, that was Matt Gutman, and they're now to the point where they're doing multiple bank robberies a day? Yeah, this is at the point where Scott has really, he's had success on his own as a bank robber. He's gotten away with it for years in Oregon. And now he thinks that he's so good at it, he voluntarily decides to quit his job and become a full-time bank robber. But he also decides that in order to make this his full-time profession now, he needs to recruit his two children, one of them who is still in high school. And how did he do it? How did he manage to recruit them and convince them to do this thing? Well, he started with his son, Hayden.

He went to Hayden and he said, listen, I have something to tell you. I've been a bank robber for a long time and I'm good at it. But now I kind of want to expand. And he convinced Hayden that this was an okay thing to do because he had a track record of getting away with it for so long. So Hayden, wanting to be loyal to his father, believes, hey, he knows what he's doing. Maybe I should just go along with this. And then instead of just talking to his own daughter himself, he sends his son, who's very close with his sister, to convince her. So he's already having the son do the dirty work. I mean, this goes all the way back to around 2000 when Scott Catt,

the father, drops the children off at school, then goes to a nearby bank wearing a ball cap, black sweats, a white painter's mask, and sunglasses. He threatens the tellers. He has an unloaded antique pistol, and he walks away with nearly $3,000. I guess that was a lot for that time. But then a few days later, police issue a grainy surveillance photo of Kat from the surveillance footage. Then they say, I got a question that says my mother says the man in the photo looked like me. And I laughed. Kat said, oh, it was the grandmother. So when this came across the airwaves, the grandmother, Scott Kat's mother, says, wow, that guy kind of looks like you. And Catt just laughs, and they all go out to dinner. He managed to get away with it. After the first

heist, he was addicted. Listen to this. It was August 2006 when the masked man robbed the first federal bank on Baker Creek Road. He didn't show a gun. A year later, this photo was snapped of a masked man robbing the Washington Mutual Bank on Highway 99 in McMinnville. Police say it looks like he has a gun and he got away with a few thousand dollars. We don't know if the kids were involved in the local robberies. It was kind of surreal. I didn't want to believe it. Abby's roommate paid her a visit in jail this weekend. If it were IT WAS KIND OF SURREAL. I DIDN'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT. ABBY'S ROOMMATE PAID HER A VISIT IN JAIL THIS WEEKEND. IF IT WERE ANYBODY ELSE ASKING HER TO DO THAT, SHE WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE IT. I THINK OUT OF LOYALTY, SHE FELT LIKE SHE HAD TO. DETECTIVES BELIEVE THE TRIO PULLED OFF SEVEN BANK HEISTS IN TWO STATES WHILE WEARING DIFFERENT DISGUISES. FEDERAL COURT RECORDS SHOW THAT RONALD SCOTT CATT HAD DECLARED BANKRUPTCY TWICE IN 2003 AND 2005.

BUT THOSE BANKRUPTCIES WERE NOT DECLARED. THE BANKRUPTCY WAS DECLARED IN 2005. THE BANKRUPTCY WAS DECLARED IN 2005. THE BANKRUPTCY WAS DECLARED IN 2005. THE BANKRUPTCY WAS DECLARED IN 2005. THE BANKRUPTCY WAS DECLARED IN 2005. different disguises. Federal court records show that Ronald Scott Catt had declared bankruptcy twice in 2003 and 2005, but those bankruptcies were dismissed. Okay, I got so many questions here to Dr. Ryan Fuller. I need to shrink. Dr. Fuller, two questions. One is about a spendaholic. You see on TV the people that lay around on their sofa all day and order from like the shopping network, all those shopping networks, and it doesn't even seem real that they're buying stuff. I actually

have a friend who shall remain anonymous who has closets full of stuff. She gets these good deals going on eBay of like sheets, sets, and comforters, and knickknacks. It's just stuffed. Every closet is stuffed with stuff that is not even opened up. And she's so proud. Hey, I got this for whatever X amount of money. She's so proud. But I'm like, what are you going to do with all this stuff? So is there some kind of an addiction about spending? Because this guy's already declared bankruptcy twice, Dr. Fuller. Yeah, well, spending on those kinds of things, sometimes we call it retail therapy or shopaholic or these sort of process or behavioral addictions. We certainly do see people present that way in our center. And they do, they do good at many of the behaviors of other addicts, people who, you know,

struggle with substances. They may not have physical withdrawals in the same way, but they do seem to get this huge burst of excitement and get lit up when they're actually making purchases, even when money is low. But what you see afterwards, of course, is the dip. Once again, they're sad, disappointed, bored. Want more money. Nothing is sort of colorful. Yeah. And then they have to go back and do whatever they need to do to get that hit again. You know, what about getting a job? You know, Vincent Hill, cop turned a PI, author of Playbook to a Murder on Amazon. Vincent, another thing that is really fascinating me, and I'm not admiring it, it's more like looking at a snake under a glass box, that kind of

fascination. This guy, Scott Catt, had a complete double life. Everybody was convinced he was this awesome dad. He made a point of cooking dinner for his children every night. And there in McMinnville, he was thought of as a single dad who supported his children, took them on summer trips to amusement parks, president of the swim club. How many criminals actually have, I say, a day job? In other words, a facade they wear to everybody else except when they're committing crimes. Yeah, Nancy, it's more common than people think. And there's a second element to this double life. We heard talks of cocaine. And in the words of Rick James, cocaine's a hell of a drug and there are a lot of people that are addicted to drugs that go out and do things to get those

drugs that people have no clue what's going on in that person's life and I think Kat is a prime example of that, no doubt about it. And ultimately, of course, it all came crashing down. Police in Texas told us when the father, son and daughter were arrested, the father admitted to five robberies in Oregon. But that was the extent of the information. Well, today, McMinnville police tell me there is a strong possibility that they are the suspects in their two unsolved bank robberies. This all came to light when sheriff's deputies near Houston, Texas, arrested Ronald Scott Catt and his children, Hayden and Abby, last week. Detectives say the father and son

wore construction vests and had guns. Hayden wore a fake mustache, while Abby drove the getaway car. Back in McMinnville, where the family used to live and the kids had been honor students and competitive swimmers at McMinnville High School, police tell me they're looking at whether the father is the man in this photo.

So, Ellen Kaloran, they all pled guilty. What was the sentence on Abby? Abby was given a sentence of five years, but she was released about halfway through that sentence on parole. And she's now out and she's trying to put her life back together. What was Hayden's sentence? Ten years, and he is still incarcerated. And what about the dad, Scott Catt? 24 years. And he was age 51 when he was sentenced. Very likely they will never be a family together around the dinner table again. Coincidentally, where the whole thing started at breakfast,

Scott Catt tells his family he has a second job as a bank robber. And the children say when they looked at his face, they knew he was not kidding. A life of crime and the payoff at the end. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.