The FBI is the most sophisticated law enforcement agency in the world. Pursuing the most dangerous criminals. When a bank manager is forced to choose between her job and her daughter's life. He says, "I'll push this [music] button and you and your daughter will disintegrate." The Bureau mobilizes. Shut up. Lift up the back of your shirt. This was just a horrific crime. Just an absolutely terrifying event. You might never see her alive again if [music] you mess up. Bria! FBI Criminal Pursuit Good job. You're doing awesome. In her suburban Vista, California home, 35-year-old bank manager Michelle Renee relaxes with her daughter, 7-year-old Bria. Just [music] your typical evening, you know, make some homemade pizzas and sit on the couch and play Super Mario. And so that's what we were doing. Until we heard the loudest noise that I've ever heard before coming from behind us. It was a door being kicked in. Three men storm the room. Michelle's daughter tries to flee. I was screaming, saying, "No, no, no." Just screaming and crying. Shut up. A masked man puts a gun to Michelle's head. I thought for sure we were going to be [music] raped, robbed, probably murdered. I didn't know. Why else would they be there doing this? Please, just don't hurt her. Michelle begs for their lives. >> Please. Shut up. He would say, "Shut up before I pistol-whip [music] you right now in front of your daughter." >> Don't kill my mommy. And I was sobbing. I was just sobbing. And I hear duct [music] tape unraveling. That sound of duct tape that I'll never forget. And somebody's knee in my back. Black boots right next to my face. The man drags Michelle up to her knees. She gets a glimpse of Bria. I saw my daughter on the ground with a gun pointed at her. She just kept saying, "Are you going to kill my mommy? Are you going to kill my mommy?" The men >> [music] >> don't answer. Instead, they have a question of their own. When does your roommate coming home? I don't know. I don't know. I had no idea when she was coming home. Don't lie to us. We know everything [music] about >> With horror, Michelle realizes that this is no random attack. >> especially here at home. They said [music] that they had been watching me for 2 months at my job. They said they'd followed me to the mall. They said [music] that they had followed me to my daughter's school and that they had been watching me in my house and had watched me have sex with my boyfriend. Michelle remembers that the night before Bria had seen a peeping Tom. She said, "Mom, I saw somebody's eyes looking through my bedroom window. I saw people outside." And I was like, "Is really?" She goes, "Yeah." She was scared out of her mind. I went back there. I looked out the window. I didn't see anything. So, she came in then she slept with me. I did dismiss it completely. And she was right. The real boogeyman. Three of them actually. And these boogeymen are there for a very specific reason. In the morning we're going to strap this to you and your daughter. And if you don't get us all the money >> Michelle that she must rob the bank where she works or else. They pulled out what was dynamite sticks [music] and said, "We're going to put these on you in the morning." And he pulled out a round button and said, "I'll push this button and you and your daughter will disintegrate." Morning is still more than 12 hours away. And Michelle can't get into the bank until then. She and her daughter will have to wait all night bound and terrified. The shortest of the three men holds his gun on 7-year-old Bria. His accomplices call him Bones. The skinny guy that's in charge of my daughter. The ringleader seemed like he was kind of in charge of me. And the big huge guy that they called Big Hershey, he was kind of posted by the front door. >> [music] >> Money, too. What's your location? The ringleader speaks through a walkie-talkie to a fourth accomplice. A female. He was talking to a woman on the walkie-talkie about her location, where she was, any cars coming, things like that. At 11:00 p.m. headlights flash across the living room window. Michelle's roommate is home. The second she opened the door, she was grabbed and she was dragged back towards her bedroom. And I didn't know what was happening in her room. I was really, really scared for her. The minutes creep by. Finally, the gunman drags the roommate into the living room. Though she, too, is bound in duct tape, she's ready to fight. She began cursing and yelling at them. Get out of this house. Coward. I'm going to scream so hard they're going Shut the hell up. They ended up putting a gun right in her face and telling her she needed to stop. And I got so scared, I pushed the gun out of her face and he swung the gun right in my face and [music] said, "Don't you touch me again. I will blow your head off right here, right now." The men duct tape the roommate's mouth to keep her quiet. Then, they begin to taunt their helpless hostages. They were really vulgar. They were really sexually explicit in their language. What >> [music] >> Yeah, I got the gun. And I just wasn't sure what was going to happen from one second to the next. I had no idea. I mean, doing what they were doing to a single mom and her child, what else are they capable of? Michelle is relieved when the men finally settle down. They were smoking pot [music] and eating chips and drinking right out of the Pepsi bottle and making it like a party. They put a movie on, they put music on. You know, they just were starting to act like this was their home. At daybreak, the ringleader forces Michelle to get ready for work. He says, "Take a [music] shower." And my daughter doesn't want to leave me. He stood outside the shower door the entire time with the door open. And he tapped the gun on the door and said, "Time to go." And just everything was slow motion. I remember, you know, my hand shutting the water off and just looking at my girl and wiping her face. [music] When you think this could be the end, everything meant something. Everything meant something. The men make Michelle dress in her work attire with one addition. They tell her to raise her shirt. They grabbed the dynamite sticks and begin to duct tape them to our back. They actually put them on me first. Then they had my daughter lean over the bathroom toilet >> [music] >> and duct tape them to her as well. Michelle is ordered to say her last goodbyes to her daughter. Do you have 10 minutes to say everything you have to say to her because you might never see her alive again if you mess this up. I'm sorry. I told her, "You are everything I ever, ever >> [music] >> wanted or dreamed of when I decided to become a mom. She's the biggest gift of my life. She said very little. The way she looked at me said it all. Just like Mommy, you know, Mommy save me, Mommy help me, Mommy make this okay. She said, "Just be brave, Mommy. You can do this. Just be brave." In November 2000, Michelle Renee, her 7-year-old daughter Breah, and her roommate are being held hostage by three masked gunmen who broke into their suburban home. >> [screaming] >> Guns at my head, on the floor, face down. [music] They said, "We've been watching you for 2 months, and we know that [music] you're the manager of the bank down the street, and you're going to rob your bank for us, or we're going to murder you and your daughter, and she's going to go first." >> [music] >> The gunmen duct-taped sticks of dynamite to their three victims. Michelle says her final goodbyes to Breah. I remember [music] walking out of that room, and just hearing her start to scream, "Mommy, Mommy, no, no, don't go, don't leave." [music] And he was at my back going, "Let's go, go." I remember feeling like I left my body. I became a robot. I had to do it to make sure that my daughter stayed safe. Whether or not they were going to kill us after they got what they wanted, I didn't know. Michelle drives to work as though it's a typical morning, despite the fact that there's a gunman under a blanket in her backseat, and dynamite strapped to her back. The ringleader guy hands me my briefcase with a duffel bag in it that they had put in there. The duffel bag is inside. Once the armored car leaves, you got 5 minutes to get the money, get out, and get back in the car. And if you try to warn anybody about what's happening, I'll detonate the bomb, including the one that's strapped to your daughter. Michelle will only have 5 minutes after the armored truck arrives to save her daughter's life. She tries to keep a brave face as she walks into the building. I was really, really nervous. I was trying to act as normal as possible, but there was just no way. I didn't even feel like I was in my body at that point. Her co-worker, Loretta Myers, greets her. I'm sorry I'm late to I told her that I was late, >> [music] >> and she was just very stoic. It's okay. That's okay. And I thought that was rather odd because she's a very vivacious, very upbeat personality. I was trying to act normal, and I picked up the phone to check my voicemail, and I immediately put the phone down and thought, "Oh my gosh, what if they can see me from outside and they think I'm calling the police?" And >> [music] >> I thought I messed up, and that brought on a whole new level of anxiety and nerves for me. Every tick [music] of the clock is now the tick of a bomb. Finally, the armored truck makes the drop. I just hear it coming, and I see him coming towards the door. And I'm thinking, "Okay, it's go time. This is it. I got it. Thank you. Michelle said she opened up the door. Unusual again because that would have been my job as the opening officer. So I thought well great she's helping out. The more the merrier. So she went into the vault. She sat down a briefcase. There you go. Have a good one. I got it. Thank you. Following strict routine, Michelle asks a second employee, a vault teller, to help her process the cash. I said could you please come help me? When she got in there I felt like okay we're in the vault. Nobody outside can see. I have to show you something. Stay calm. I lifted my shirt. I showed her what was on my back. Oh my god Michelle. I need you to help me put this money in this bag. Yeah I remember just grabbing money and putting it in the bag and she was just standing there. I don't have that much time. Come on let's go. And I said get ready to shut the bank down. Do not call the police, okay? Or they're going to blow me up and they're going to blow my daughter up. Do you understand? Desperate to save her daughter's life, Michelle begs the vault teller not to raise an alarm. The teller agrees and Michelle walks out of the vault with a duffel bag full of cash. Unaware of what's going on, Loretta Myers tries to stop Michelle to ask a question. Loretta She was saying, "Michelle, there's a problem with the computer." And it was almost like an echo. Everything sounded far away, and I just remember telling her, "I trust you. You can handle it." And just kept on walking. Just after 9:00 a.m. Michelle walks out of the bank with $360,000. The gunman is waiting in the backseat of her Jeep. He forces Michelle to drive to a nearby apartment building where he orders her to get out. What are you doing? Aren't you going to take this off me? He says, "Walk back from the direction we came, and you'll find your Jeep." And he takes off in my Jeep. And I start walking in that same direction, almost running again, and thinking to myself that they lied. Because all night when they went over their plan, they kept saying, "We'll take the dynamite off of you and your roommate, and that's that." And they didn't take it off of me. As Michelle approaches the cul-de-sac, she sees her Jeep with the keys in the ignition. She races home. I'm thinking I'm going to blow up any second. They got what they want. My daughter could already be dead. My roommate could already be dead. Just Michelle, get in and drive. You want to scream to somebody, "Help me. Call the police. Something." And you feel like you can't because you're jeopardizing your daughter's life. I get home. I push the door open, I try to scream and nothing would come out and finally I was like, you know, "Priya, Priya." It's been 15 hours since three masked gunmen burst into Michelle Renee's home and forced her to rob the Vista, California bank where she works. Just didn't seem real. It's just this unbelievably horrifying scene that you are used to seeing on TV. That you never ever in a million years think this is going to be you and your only child. Never. The robbery went off without a hitch. Now, Michelle rushes back to her house afraid to contact police and uncertain whether her daughter is still alive. >> [music] >> Then Priya! she hears a noise. I hear her in the back room and I hear her voice. Mommy, Mommy! Shell! Shell! She's like, "Mommy, Mommy, we're back here." To Michelle's relief, her daughter and roommate are alive and well. Though they are still bound and duct taped. I realized they don't have the dynamite on them. My roommate, she's like, "Michelle, they ripped it off. I know I could do it. Just let me get it off." I remember bending over the chair. >> [music] >> I remember her taking it off and taking it outside. Be careful. Terrified the bomb could go off at any second. The three race to a neighbor's house. Michelle and her roommate and Michelle's little daughter, I could tell they were distraught. I immediately called 911 and looked for the police to come, which they did. And about the same time the FBI showed up. Special Agent Jeff McKinney is an experienced crime veteran, but he's blown away by Michelle's story. I've never had anything like this in my 25 years. The story also hits [music] a nerve for a more personal reason. I had a 9-year-old daughter at home, a couple years older than Bria, and of course she was in my mind when I saw this young girl, [music] and to just think about the extended period of time of just absolute terror is just horrible to think about as a parent. And the terror isn't over yet. There is still a live explosive to defuse. Our first concern is that there was some type of electronic wires, which means it could have been remotely detonated. The tension is unbearable as the police bomb squad cautiously approaches the dynamite. Special Agent Barry Vecchioni is the senior leader for the FBI evidence response team. Something about the bomb looks unusual. Once you got close within a couple of feet, you could tell that it didn't look right. Astonishingly, the bomb is fake. It's some wooden dowels that have been painted to look like dynamite. And then some black tape used to make it look like it had a uh some sort of detonator on it. But then it had red and black uh and yellow strapping that was made to look like simulated wires on it. Someone who hasn't really ever seen actual dynamite, it was a good facsimile. Whoever did this is savvy and clearly dangerous. Authorities immediately begin searching the house hoping to find hints of the robbers' identities. There were very, very few clues. Very little real solid evidence. Frustrated by the lack of evidence, authorities question Michelle, her roommate, and Brea. They were able to give us a description of the three people that held them, talk a little bit about the voices. They were able to say height, weight, build, and also noticed the abductors had ski masks on with holes cut out of them so the eyes were not covered and the eyes can be a very very telling identifier of a person. Michelle walks agents through the crime scenes at her house and the bank. Surveillance video at the bank supports her story. And Michelle is able to add one shocking detail. She believes she knew who >> [music] >> the man was with the distinctive bulging eyes and recognized his voice. She thinks one of the gunmen came into the bank only hours before the attack. Pretending to want a loan for his new photography business. I recognized his eyes. I remembered our whole exchange [music] at my desk. And a woman had come into the bank to get him. And they left [music] together. And her voice on the walkie-talkie, I remember that voice sounding very familiar and I was just like, "Oh my gosh, it's her." Michelle has the chilling thought that she made herself an easy target. I remembered him picking up the picture on my desk of my daughter and saying, "Is this your daughter?" And I said, "Yes." And he said, "She's really beautiful." I didn't have any [music] pictures of me and a husband and a family. I wear a ring. [music] I don't have pictures of a guy. So obviously I'm a single mom. Michelle recalls that the man had handed her [music] a business card. The name on the card Christopher Butler. Agents run the name through the criminal database. But don't expect to find anything. Most of us considered it a red herring. We didn't think this was actually a good lead. In fact, we figured it was kind of a waste of a lot of time tracking down this person because he felt like well, who would go and do this the day before trying to rob it. To their surprise, they get a hit. When we did run Christopher Butler, we got that he was a prior convicted felon involved in an armed bank robbery in Atlanta. We thought that this very well could be our guy. The FBI needs to find Christopher Butler quickly. >> He immediately of course went to the top of the list as suspects in this. Local police determine that Butler lives 17 miles away in Oceanside California. FBI warrant. FBI search warrant. 10 days after the heist, the FBI raids Butler's home. Butler is nowhere to be found, but he's left a trail of irrefutable evidence. As soon as I opened the dresser in the bedroom, right there on top was this yellow and red and black strapping that I immediately recognized as being very similar to what came off the hoax explosive device. We also found a mask that was made out of a a a knit cap, but it had holes cut out of it. And in the backyard was an old stereo cabinet, and on the stereo cabinet was some spray paint that looked to be about the same color as the improvised dynamite. And within this spray paint, there was a void that was sort of long and skinny [music] like the improvised open device. As agents finish their work at the house, they get a call from the lab. Technicians [music] have found one more piece of damning evidence. A clear fingerprint is on the fake dynamite. Someone had touched it with their finger [music] to see if the paint had dried. And obviously, that makes for a great fingerprint. They must have missed that episode of CSI. It's no surprise that the fingerprint [music] matches Christopher Butler. Now, investigators are certain that Butler was leading the heist. And based on Michelle Renee's descriptions and other evidence, they suspect his roommate, Christopher Huggins, and his girlfriend were two of his accomplices. Warrants are put out for all three suspects, and agents >> [music] >> begin searching the streets of Vista. One week later, they get a break. Butler is spotted driving his car with his girlfriend. Agents pull them over. They knew who we were, and they knew why we wanted them, and we knew that they were armed and dangerous. Put the keys on top of the vehicle. Do it Agents draw their weapons. We tried to block off the traffic in the surrounding area to keep people out of harm's way. >> Put the keys on the roof and step out of the vehicle. Do it now. >> Seconds later, agents arrest Butler and his girlfriend without incident. Authorities are relieved to have two of their prime suspects in custody. But their behavior seems strange. They were very solemn, were not saying anything. Mr. Butler is a very cocky, confident individual, uh but he was being very quiet. Back at the station, Christopher Butler doesn't say a word. But before long, his girlfriend starts talking. And what [music] she says radically changes the course of the investigation. December 1st, 2000. Christopher Butler and his girlfriend have been arrested for their role in kidnapping bank manager Michelle Renee, her 7-year-old daughter Bria, and their roommate. The same morning of their arrest, authorities get a lead on a third suspect, Butler's roommate, Christopher Huggins, known as Big Hershey. We received information from a former associate of his [music] that he had a large amount of money, about $94,000, and and asked [music] her to hide it for him. She contacted us, returned the money, and cooperated with the investigation. Christopher Huggins was subsequently arrested in Perris, California. Just one more suspect, Robert "Bones" Ortiz, is still on the loose. It appears that he simply took his portion of the cash and walked away. Ortiz remains on the run for the next 2 months. Michelle goes on a national television program in hopes of generating leads. I wanted to be a part of catching them. Are you on the right way? Tips pour in, including one from Ortiz's ex-girlfriend. She claims he is hiding out in the crawl space of an apartment building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The FBI wastes no time hunting him down. >> [screaming] >> It was a SWAT surround and call out and he wouldn't come out and he was in an attic and they had to use uh gas to uh smoke him out of there and they also had to use uh police dogs. He was not going down not without a fight. Ortiz finally surrenders and is extradited back to California to face charges of kidnapping and bank robbery. All four suspects are now in custody. Investigators begin to question them about the heist. The men won't talk. But the girlfriend I know there was a girl She identifies a fifth accomplice and it is the last person anyone suspects. I think her name was Michelle. She [snorts] told us that she was the lookout with the radio was communicating with Christopher Butler >> [snorts] >> and at one point she heard information about Michelle being involved. I've really been waiting for three guys to Could Michelle Renee have been in on the [music] plot the entire time? The timing of the robbery well executed. They got a large amount of money out of a bank that typical bank robbery does not get very much. So it was one that made us wonder if there was insider involvement. The FBI takes a closer look at Michelle Renee's background. What they learn is troubling. Michelle was one of seven children raised in a turbulent household. Money was a big [music] issue. Sometimes we'd go without food. Sometimes we'd go without electricity and water and things like that. Shortly before her 16th birthday, she ran away from home. I ended up dropping out of high school. I ended up getting a job as a waitress. That wasn't cutting it. I ended up living with a boyfriend that was really, really violent and actually >> [music] >> basically forced me to sell his drugs for him. At the age of 18, Michelle took a job as a stripper. I came up with a stage name. I was somebody else. I didn't have to be Michelle, the runaway, the broken [music] person. I could be somebody totally different. Michelle also got a day job as a bank teller. She lied on her application. I told them that I did graduate from high school [music] so that I would get the job. My circumstance didn't really allow me to graduate. And when I checked that box, it bothered me. >> [snorts] >> Michelle got married at age 22. She worked at the bank while secretly still dancing at night. She and her husband divorced after several years. But Michelle was on a roll with her job. By her early 30s, she was [music] promoted to bank manager. Ironically, her personal finances [music] were a mess. I had filed bankruptcy to help me with my debts that were incurred [music] during my marriage that I tried to handle on my own and I couldn't. >> [snorts] >> So, I did that, never thinking it would ever come back to haunt me. But now, it has. It appears Michelle had a financial motive to commit the crime and with her checkered past and the girlfriend's claims that she was in on the plot, the FBI questions whether she's really a victim or an accomplice. This scenario where you you rob your your own house or you you you fake a home invasion. I mean, it's not uncommon. >> [screaming] >> In a courtroom in San Diego, California, prosecutors are trying Christopher Butler and his girlfriend for their roles in robbing a Vista, California bank. At first, prosecutors and the FBI [music] are confident. When I entered the courtroom, there was a huge pile of evidence. It was almost 4 ft tall and 6 or 7 ft wide [music] and I asked the case agent and I said, "Well, what's that up there?" And he goes, "Well, that's all the evidence from the case." And I realized that we we literally had a mountain of evidence. But the case quickly takes a turn when the girlfriend's confession to participating in the crime is ruled inadmissible. Uh Michelle For Herb Weston, the girlfriend's court-appointed attorney, it is the first step of a concerted defense strategy. They wanted to try them together and Chris couldn't cross-examine her because she wasn't going to take the stand. That meant that statement doesn't come in against either one of them. But Christopher Butler does take the stand and echoes the girlfriend's claim that Michelle Renee is the real mastermind behind the entire heist. He said really ridiculous, crazy things like I recruited him after bumping into him at a grocery store and befriended him and asked him to help me pull off this crazy bank heist and that he came to my house and that I >> [music] >> told him to kick in the door to make it look real, to basically make it out like I was the person that orchestrated the entire thing. Butler takes it one step further, claiming he and Michelle were having an affair. That was disturbing and disgusting and really fueled my my level of of anger. [music] Michelle is still angry when 7 days into the trial she takes the stand. She recounts the trauma of the home invasion and having her daughter's life on the line. Her story is compelling, but her demeanor is not. She was a terrible witness for the prosecution and a great witness for the defense. She just did everything wrong. They saw the very fiery, [music] feisty, fighter side of me. But boy, that that defense attorney, Weston, yeah, he pushed every button I had. The defense argues that Michelle's troubled personal [music] history is evidence that she, not his client, concocted the whole scheme. She was a stripper early on in her life, that she had just recently declared bankruptcy, so there was a financial reason why she might be involved in needing money and therefore taking money. That was a very difficult [music] testimony. The defense attorneys realized that they needed to attack her credibility as a witness and they did so. The jury just said, "Wait a minute. This is a person who can create things out of out of thin air to make it more believable." The type of person who would be street smart, who would be willing to to come up with things so that everything fit nice and neat in a little box. It takes the jury five days to reach a verdict. They find Christopher Butler guilty of kidnapping Michelle's daughter, Brea, and her roommate, but not Michelle. He's given consecutive life terms in prison. Some jurors said they believed Butler's claim that he and [music] Michelle were having an affair and that she had staged her own kidnapping. Turns out that they [music] ended up doing what a lot of jurors do. They compromise and said, "Okay, we think that Michelle lied, [music] but the roommate didn't and the daughter didn't, so we're going to find him guilty of that." The jury finds Christopher Butler's girlfriend >> [music] >> not guilty on all counts. Bitter sweet moment for me to hear the verdicts. He was found not guilty for kidnapping me and guilty for everything else that had to do with Brea and my roommate. So, that was really, really hard for me. And she was completely acquitted. That was that was really, really tough for me to to swallow. Two months later, Christopher Huggins and Robert [music] Ortiz both have their day in court. Both men confess to the crime. But unlike Christopher Butler, they did not implicate Michelle. Ortiz and Huggins are convicted of kidnapping and burglary and are also given consecutive life terms in prison. I hope that these guys behind bars have a whole lot to think about while they're there for the rest of their lives. The FBI is convinced that Michelle Renee is totally innocent of any wrongdoing. I am confident that she was not involved with this case. There's a lot of things that make me feel that, but the biggest things are I really don't think she would put her daughter through this experience. Just because there are those things, whether it's bankruptcies or misrepresentations on an application, that's not something that means that somebody's a criminal. But Michelle Renee feels like the cloud of suspicion over her has never lifted. I was working at this great job that I was in love with that could be my career for the rest of my life, and that was my plan. I was on track. I was beginning to get back on my feet financially. Everything was beginning to come together. And then [music] just like that. Gone. Done. We know everything about you. She was victimized during that horrific night for 14 hours, and then she was [music] subsequently victimized because once there was some information that she might have been involved with this, we had to investigate that. And then really a third [music] time on the witness stand. It was really an awful crime to have to live through really three separate times. Michelle has coped with the trauma by writing a book about her experience. >> [music] >> She's also a public speaker advocating for victims of violence. She and her daughter >> [music] >> are closer than ever and determined to thrive. We're going to make it and we're going to be okay. [music] And we're going to just continue to look towards the future in a really great way. I don't know what's next. But I'm looking forward to it whatever it is.