Convicted felon indicted in October armed robberies, carjacking
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging an Indianapolis man after carjacking a woman outside of a Dollar Tree in Lawrence with a stolen handgun, then driving around to banks until she could give him money out of an ATM.
George Landy, 52, is charged with interference with commerce by robbery; attempted interference with commerce by robbery; carjacking; two counts of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, on Oct. 24, Landy was standing outside of a Dollar Tree until he approached a woman leaving the store.
The woman told police he flirted with her, then pulled his shirt to reveal a holstered gun. Landy ordered that she move to the passenger seat so he could drive to a bank so she could withdraw cash from an ATM.
“[The woman] stated the suspect said to give him money and she will be okay, but if she doesn’t give him money then bad things will happen,” court documents state. “[The woman] stated she only had thirty dollars cash on her at the time and the suspect was irritated wanting more.”
Landry then began driving to a Huntington Bank in the 8400 block of Pendleton Pike, where the woman said she could not pull out money due to the drive-thru being closed.
They attempted go through another drive-thru at a different Huntington Bank location but were denied by the teller due to the woman having an expired driver’s license. She told police that Landy was the one who spoke to the teller and accessed the ATM to pull out money.
Landry forced the woman to withdraw $500 from her account.
From there, the victim said she was taken to a downtown IndyGo station in the 200 block of East Washington Street, where the suspect took her wedding ring set, another sapphire ring, her debit card, her driver’s license and her car. She said he gave her $5 for a bus ride before taking off.
The following day, police located the stolen vehicle near Landy’s residence and observed him opening the door using a key. Landy fled on foot and threw a firearm on the ground when he saw police approaching him.
He was apprehended, and police recovered the firearm.
After Landy’s arrest, investigators linked him to two other attempted robberies in Indianapolis: an armed robbery at a Family Dollar store on Oct. 16 and an attempted armed robbery at a McDonald’s on Oct. 23., in which he fired two shots inside the restaurant. No one was injured during the incident.
According to a release, If convicted of all counts, Landy could face life in prison.
