Robbery Suspect Is Smart Attention Seeker: Author
Lawyer says drugs could be behind robberies
By Amanda Raus, Doug Greene, Monica Buchanan and LeAnne Gendreau
| Wednesday, Sep 30, 2009 | Updated 9:02 AM EST
AP
Accused serial bank robber Heather Brown, of Norwich, was arrested Monday in Hartford.
The woman police suspect in a week-long bank robbery spree that spanned three states is a smart, ruthless drug user who likely fed on the attention she was getting for eluding police, according to an author who met her 12 years ago.
Mark Braunstein met Heather Brown on the streets of New London and interviewed and photographed Heather Brown for a literary and photography project about the lives of streetwalkers.
“She’s ruthless. She lies like no one else,” Braunstein said.
The 34-year-old Brown is also a cunning, intelligent woman who steals to pay for her long-time drug habit, he said.
“She wanted to build a record. She boasts of all her crimes and that would be a great boast,” Braunstein said.
Braunstein says Brown’s recent alleged crime spree was more about attention than money.
“The media was building her up and she struck again. It was a dare to her. She had to accept the dare,” Braunstein said.
Brown also wrote an autobiography about her life of drug use and crime, Braunstein said. He owns the rights to the book.
He expects Brown will not change and believed she’ll rob again when she’s back on the streets.
“She was ashamed to be caught. She wasn’t ashamed to have done this,” Braunstein said.
On Monday, police nabbed Brown, who has a record including 24 arrests and convictions and probation for another bank robbery in Groton City three years ago.
They tracked her down in the north end of Hartford after learning that she might be buying drugs in the area, police said.
She was formally charged with the Sept. 21, robbery of a Citizen's Bank in Montville and her bond is set at $1 million.
However, police believe she could be responsible for five other bank robberies in the last week.
They think she is behind bank robberies in Westerly, Rhode Island last Tuesday, in Middletown on Wednesday, in West Springfield, Mass. on Thursday, in East Hartford on Friday and in Windsor on Saturday.
Her method was to go into the banks, claim to have a bomb and running away with cash, police said. They're still trying to find a motive.
"Different law enforcement agencies are probably working on their arrests warrants as we speak," State Police Sgt. Chris Johnson said.
Brown's longtime friend John Ruley told NBC Connecticut he thought she wanted to get caught after robbing the banks to feed her habit, her addiction to crack.
Lawrence Bates Jr., the attorney who represented her, said Brown was first arrested when she was 18 and has been arrested several times since then. She's also been in several rehab programs for crack addiction, he said.
Brown has told Bates her previous crimes have been related to her drug use, he said.
"I'm willing to bet when she actually sits down and talks to her public defender that she's going to tell him the story of all the drugs she's been doing while she's been robbing the banks," Bates said.
Posted Wednesday, Sep 30, 2009 - 6:52 AM EST
Top Stories
