THE LONE STAR FUGITIVE TASK FORCE ARRESTS RICHARD RANDALL

ODESSA – On Thursday, October 25, 2007, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Midland was contacted by U.S. Marshals from Corpus Christi with information that Bank Robbery suspect Richard Lawrence Randall may be in the Midland area, driving a white Cadillac with North Carolina license plates, and possibly armed. Randall was wanted for a bank robbery in Portland, Texas, just north of Corpus Christi, which had just happened the day before. He was also wanted for another bank robbery in Charlotte, North Carolina which occurred earlier in the month. The Task Force immediately began contacting local agencies in the Midland/Odessa area to be on the look out. Within 30 minutes of the alert, an Odessa Police Officer spotted the car at the Quality Inn motel in Odessa, and task force members quickly responded. U.S. Marshals confirmed with the desk clerk that Randall was registered there, and then requested assistance from the Odessa PD SWAT Team. Negotiators spoke with Randall throughout the night in an effort to get him to release a woman who was in the room with him. At about 5:00 a.m. Friday morning, Randall allowed the woman to leave the room, but continued the standoff with officers. About 6:30 a.m., OPD and U.S. Marshals evacuated the motel, and the SWAT Team fired pepper gas into the room, causing Randall to come out and surrender where he was taken into federal custody by U.S. Marshals. A search of the vehicle revealed a silver colored plastic toy gun and a note investigators believe was used in one or more of the robberies. The Odessa Police Department is a member agency of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.