pd-l1 saved my life. saved my life. saved my life. what we do here at dana-faber, changes lives everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. bombs. >> they said this is c-4 explosive. we're going to strap it to you. >> terror. >> a guy to driving to the bank right now and he has a bomb strapped to his chest. >> robbery. >> they said to me we want $4.2 million in cash. >> families taken hostage, told to commit a crime or else. >> they're going to keep son and the wife while he goes in and robs the bank. >> striking again. >> she looks up and here's a guy with an assault rifle. >> and again. >> for every minute that he was late his wife was going to lose a finger. >> a high stakes stalemate. >> bank employee refuses to open

the vault. >> a high-speed car chase. >> he's just hit a third vehicle. >> stop! >> how did the gunman know everything about their victims? their secret weapon could turn everyone into a potential target. >> they would find people on social media. be careful what you put out for the world to see. it's a mouse click way. ♪ it's a beautiful september day in the western mountains of north carolina. a beautiful stretch of interstate. north carolina state highway patrol is running radar. and you see a ford edge blow right by.

it started off as a routine traffic stop. but it was anything but routine. all of a sudden you see the suv pull over. you see the passenger's side door open briefly and then shut and then take off again. you hear the sirens. you hear the unmistakable roar of the engine. you see the vehicle swerve into the big truck. it takes off its driver's side mirror. goes flying off. and you see the brake lights go on. and then you see him rammed side. >> he's just hit a third vehicle. >> stop! >> our story begins in 2015 with 46-year-old matt yusman, a financial officer of a credit union in central connecticut. >> i've been playing hockey for

30-something years, play every week, sometimes twice a week, all sturm long, all winter long. >> money management pays his bills, but hockey fuels his passion. he's the goalie for a team called the trash pandas. >> so your league plays on sunday night. how'd you do that night? >> we won the game, which was a good thing, but it was a late-night game. >> matt's glow from a victory that night ended after he headed home. he pulled up to the garage of his bristol, connecticut house around midnight. he didn't know two men were watching. >> i would just open the garage door, get out, take all my equipment out because i'm a goalie, i have a large bag. >> matt's 70-year-old mother vallie, a retired nurse, was inside the home they shared, watching the academy awards. matt moved his mom into the house after his dad, her husband of 40 years, had passed away. >> it was the night of the oscars, and they didn't finish till it was just about midnight or a few minutes after. and it was right after that when i heard the garage door open. >> as i'm walking back to the

car to pull it in i see somebody coming, running down my driveway yelling "get on the ground." and i see he's pointing a gun at me. tells me to kneel on the garage floor. as i'm kneeling there, he walks up behind me and ticks the gun right behind the back of my ear, presses it against my head, and says "lie face first on the ground." >> you heard him when he arrived home. >> yes. and i was waiting for him to come into the house. and he wasn't coming in. >> as i'm being zip-tied, i look up and i see another guy running down the driveway. >> matt says the gunmen were covered head to toe in multiple layers of heavy clothing and black ski goggles. based on matt's recollection we created these images of the men. >> could you make out their faces? >> no. they had no distinguishing things i could see. >> did you know what race they were? >> everything was covered. >> the only features he could make out, one was a tall slender guy, the other heavyset. >> i got up to go out to the garage and when i went out there i saw matt laying face down in

the garage and there were two masked gunmen over him holding guns on him. one of the gunmen swung around with his gun and pointed it at me. and said come down into the garage here. he said kneel beside your son. >> so this is all going bad very quickly. >> yeah, this is going bad very quickly. >> i went down, and i knelt beside my son and i said "please don't hurt us. please don't hurt us." i said, "we will do whatever you want." >> mother and son quickly realized they were the victims of a home invasion. neighbors couldn't see what was happening because their ranch house is set far back from the road on an isolated cul-de-sac. >> and i guess you're thinking this is going to play out hopefully in the garage and we'll get past this. >> that was my whole thing was, you know what, take what you need, leave me, go, and i thought that was going to be the end of it. >> but it moves into the house. >> but it moves into the house. >> inside matt was led to a couch. >> they immediately put a small

knit hat over my head and duct taped the hat to my head so i couldn't see anything. >> why didn't they just grab some valuables and leave? he could never have guessed what their villainous plan for him really was. coming up -- this was much more than just a home invasion. the gunmen say they have a problem. and matt jusman is the solution. >> we owe some very bad people a lot of money and you're going to get it for us. >> how much money? >> $4.2 million in cash. >> and that was nothing compared to what matt heard next. >> they said this is c-4 explosive. we're going to make an explosive device and we're going to strap it to you. >> and matt's mom? she was in danger too. >> we're going to put a bomb under her bed, and if you deviate from the plan we're going to detonate both of your bombs. >> when "dateline" continues. bombs. >> when "dateline" continues

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two armed masked men were holding matt jusman and his mother hostage in their connecticut home. matt's mom was brought into their bedroom where they turned up the volume on her tv. she says she was instructed to lie down on the bed and stay there. then she was left alone. but she could hear something alarming going on in the other room. that's where matt was seated on a couch, his hands zip tied, his eyes covered with a blindfold. >> i tried to listen to what they were saying to matthew. they were putting on some headphones on him. i heard them say that. >> they put earphones on. and i'm just getting static and static. and i don't know what's going on. and all of a sudden i get a voice that sounds very synthesized, electronic, and the very first then they said to me was this is not a robbery. this is not a typical home invasion. >> by using a device like this

the kidnappers -- [ disguised voice ]. could disguise their voices. >> that gave me the creeps because that sounds very similar to what they did. >> then they outlined their complex big plan, explaining why mom and son were being held captive. >> we're looking for a large sum of money. we owe some very bad people a lot of money, and you're going to get it for us. >> how much money? >> it was very specific. they said to me we want $4.2 million in cash. >> and there was something else that was unusually specific. the kidnappers knew intimate details about matt's life. >> they knew where i work, what i did. i had my mother in the house. >> matt, the cfo of a chief financial credit union, was told the next morning he would go to one of his branches and take $4.2 million out of the vault. matt told them a credit union would never have that much money on hand. still, he could get them something. >> this is where i lie for the first time and i'm like, i can

get you guys a million dollars. and they said oh, a million dolla dollars. >> hours passed. matt says he sat on that couch tied up and blindfolded worning who was going to happen next. >> it had to be around 3:00 in the morning i think. they get me up and they say you know, what we're going for a ride. that was the second time i got really scared because now i'm like they're taking me away from the house. >> that's a line out of the bad movies, we're going to take you for a ride, right? >> yes. >> the gunmen next went into his mom's room carrying rolls of heavy-duty duct tape. they told her she was going to stay behind. >> and they wrapped my feet with duct tape to the bottom of my bed. they said just a precaution so i wouldn't go anyplace while they went away. and i said i will stay wherever you put me. i didn't dare try to get out of the bindings. >> matt says he found himself in the back seat of one of the two vehicles he owns. >> they had actually put a

pillow in the back seat of the car. don't know why. but they told me to stick my face into the pillow and not to move. we then proceed out my driveway. and we drove for maybe 15 minutes. we parked, and i heard gravelly or just cracking snow. like we'd gone off the side of the road. and i was like, wow, what's going to happen here? are they taking me out in the woods? they're going to put a bullet in my head? >> one of them got out of the suv. matt says he heard another car start up. suddenly there was movement in his vehicle and they were back on the road. he was relieved to eventually find himself back home. then according to matt the kidnappers asked him an odd question. >> sat me on the couch and asked me if i wanted to take a shower. >> a shower? >> shower. >> after all of this? >> after all that. so i said sure, i'll take a

shower. >> a shower? after terrorizing him for three hours, how strange. what was going on? and then matt's story took another bizarre turn. he says he was led into the kitchen, where something was waiting for him on a table. >> they said do you know what this is? and i said no. and they said this is c-4 explosive. we're going to make an explosive device and we're going to strap it to you because we don't trust you that you're going to do what you're told. >> c-4, a plastic explosive used by the military and terrorists. it can be molded like clay into any shape and debtnated remotely. hearing what was happening in the other room, matt's mom began to cry. >> and then i could hear them unwrapping duct tape, lots and lots. i could hear the unwrapping. and that must have been when they were strapping it around him. and i began to cry harder. and really panicked because as you're laying there i'm thinking they're putting a bomb on him.

>> matt was left alone, a bomb tightly wrapped around his waist. his anxiety was building as each minute seemed the last before eternity. it was just before daylight. matt's mom says one of the men came back into her room and said something unexpected. >> one fella came in and said to me, "i don't want you to get alarmed, but we're going to be using the vacuum." and i thought -- >> the vacuum? >> vacuum. they came in, and i could hear them vacuuming out in my living room. and then they came in the bedroom and were vacuuming all around the bed and things. >> six hours into their ordeal, the sun was soon to rise. the two assailants told matt his workday was beginning and he'd soon be leaving to rob his own credit union. and to ensure his cooperation they advised him they were leaving an insurance policy in his mom's bedroom.

>> they said we're not taking any chances, we're going to put a bomb under her bed and if you deviate from the plan we're going to detonate both of your bombs. >> matt says that plan included the threat to detonate his or miz mom's bomb by cell phone at any time they wanted. at 10:00 a.m. they would text him the location of where to drop off the money. and to make sure he stayed on time they also attached a timer to his bomb that would automatically explode at 11:00 a.m. that was less than three hours away. >> and then at some point they came over to me and said, "it's time." they bring me to my car. at this point they take the blindfold off me. they cut the zip ties off me. >> so rob the bank -- >> we'll meet you at the drop-off place. >> coming up -- >> i did exactly what they told me. i called my boss. i said, this is my life. don't play with it. don't call the police. >> but his boss does.

>> as i turned the corner around to the front of the branch, i see all the police cars. that's when pure panic sets in. >> a diabolical plan goes off the rails. and the surprises are just getting started. when "dateline" continues. whatever happens out there today,

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it was 8:30 a.m., 8 1/2 hours since the start of connecticut executive matt

yussman's nightmare. he was on his way to one of the branch offices of his credit union, claiming kidnappers had strapped a plastic explosive to his belly and rigged another device beneath his mother's bed back home where she lay bound. >> i'm driving to the credit union and now for the first time i start to think of, wow, how is this going to play out? what's going to happen? >> so wait a second. are you meant to drive yourself? is that what you're saying? >> yes, they actually wanted me to drive my own car. >> how are they going to control you? >> and i figured they were just going to follow me around or watch me the whole time. >> two bombs, he said, that could be detonated by the touch of a cell phone. and oh, by the way, a timer on his device that would go off at the stroke of 11:00 a.m. >> i called my boss. and i said my mother and i are victims of a home invasion. i'm currently sitting in my car right now strapped to an explosive device. and i'm coming to the credit

union to empty the vault. you need to empty the branch. >> are you using any code words? >> no. this is real. i said this is my life, don't play with it. >> and don't notify the police. >> don't call the police. >> matt's boss ignored his plea of no cops. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> i've just received a call a few minutes ago from one of our vps and he's instructing me to vacate our new britain branch because they're going to come and rob it. >> that 911 call eventually ended up here. police headquarters in new britain, connecticut where the credit union was located. >> i was a brand new sergeant. we had just gotten done with roll call in the morning. the phone rang at the main desk of the police department. you know, there's a bank robbery going on. and a guy is driving to the bank right now and he has a bomb strapped to his chest. >> this is not your usual monday morning, sergeant. >> we're trying to figure out if it was a joke or not. >> it was no joke. sergeant david mikarsky was one

of the first out the door. >> what do you know at that point, sergeant? >> so the only thing we knew is they gave us a plate on the car. it was a red car. >> the sergeant had matt's license plate number and the model of the red car he was driving. >> i get to the credit union and i don't see anything. there's no cars. i'm like, fantastic. as i turn the corner around to the front of the branch, that's when pure panic sets in. now i see all the police cars. >> the kidnappers told matt not to call the police. and now there they were. curtains. he now had two hours and 15 minutes until that bomb would explode. matt eased into a parking spot. >> i rolled down my window, and they're all screaming get out of the car, get out of the car. >> he gets out of the car. we get out of our cars. and there was like a good 15 seconds of silence.

him looking at us and us looking at him and trying to figure out what was going on. >> mikarsky's partner drew his gun, aiming straight at matt. >> and i said i'm wearing an explosive device. and they were like show us. so i lift up my shirt, show them what i was wearing. >> we're like holy cow, i can't believe this is real. >> you were persuaded something was there, huh? >> oh, 100%. >> because it was a frigid 9 degrees out that february morning, the sergeant told matt to get back in his car. then he and his partner protectively stayed about 100 feet away. jim wardwell was at that time new britain's chief of police. overseeing a force of 165 officers for the 73,000 people who live in the central connecticut city. word of this extraordinary crime immediately ran up the ranks, and the chief along with his top command staff rushed to the credit union. >> what do you do to secure the area? >> immediate response. pretty much all available personnel were sent to the area.

we cleared buildings in the areas. we put schools on lockdown. >> they closed off the surrounding streets and shut down a major thoroughfare. s.w.a.t. teams and heavy equipment rolled in. and the state's bomb squad was called to get the device off of matt. >> shutting down an interstate is not a small decision. calling in other agencies to assist is not a small decision. and all those decisions had to be made and they were made very, very quickly. >> back at the credit union parking lot sergeant mikarsky, a member of the crisis negotiation team, became the point man to communicate with matt. the sergeant gave his cell number to yussman and they started to talk over the phone. >> so what's the demeanor of this man who says he's got a bomb on him? >> even keeled. he was very calm for the situation. >> at least for now. members of the state police bomb squad. traveling for different parts of the state. but precious time was melting

away. then at 10:00 a.m. the kidnappers started texting. they wanted their money. one hour to go until the bomb was supposed to explode. coming up -- >> i said to the police what do you want me to tell them? >> matt needed answers. and he didn't have much time to get them. >> your mind starts to think about weird things like am i going to know it when it goes off? what are you going to feel? >> when "dateline" continues. n s in each cubic yard of air. no wonder you rub your eyes hundreds of times a day. but now, relief is just one drop away. introducing pataday® full prescription strength pataday works right in your eyes. right on the cells that make them itch. fast. just one drop, once a day means relief that lasts all day. so turn your day, into a pataday. now get pataday without a prescription. everywhere. your happy place. find your breaking point.

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i'm cori coffin with the hour's top stories. the cdc has established new guidelines to combat the spread of the coronavirus. it's now recommended that events with 50 or more people are canceled for the next eight weeks throughout the u.s. former vice president joe biden has committed to picking a woman as vp if he's elected for president. he made the statement during the democratic presidential debate in d.c. tonight. vermont senator bernie sanders says he's likely to nominate a

woman but he stopped short of committing to the move. now back to "dateline." it was now close to 10:00 a.m. almost 90 minutes since matt first drove into the parking lot of the credit union. >> you're just sitting in the car and you're strapped to an explosive device. >> an explosive device due to go off in about an hour. >> i'm like, are my employees watching this? i'm like i don't want anyone to see me blow up. this is not what i want to be doing. so that next hour was just awful. >> the pressure was becoming unbearable. >> now i'm starting to cry. >> and you're waiting for the bomb squad. >> and i'm waiting for the bomb squad. >> as the state police bomb squad headed to the scene from different parts of connecticut, sergeant david mikarsky was talking to matt by cell phone from his car. >> my big thing was just trying to keep him calm and keep him talking and assuring him that we

had help on the way and we're going to get through it. >> he is my one and only contact -- my only person i'm talking to. he tried to keep me from losing it. >> terrified as he was, matt was still able to tell the police about his mom's dire situation. nine miles from the credit union parking lot the yussman house in bristol, connecticut was eerily quiet. matt's mom was convinced the kidnappers were gone, but to where she didn't know. she decided to work herself free from her bed. >> it took me a while to get out because they had wrapped that duct tape around and around. >> she had no idea that the authorities were descending on her home in force. >> as i got myself out of the restraints, i could see right out into our driveway. and when i looked out there, it was full of police. when i opened the door to holler out, one of the policemen with a

big rifle pointed right at me, and he said walk up to the driveway. >> matt's mom was unharmed, at least physically. emotionally she was alarmed as she talked to the police. >> and they said lift up your shirt. and i thought, what are they doing? apparently, they thought maybe i had a bomb on myself. so i lifted up my shirt. they checked me out, okay, and they put me in a police car. >> back in the credit union parking lot matt was told his mom was okay. he was not. precious minutes were ticking by. >> meanwhile, you've been told that there's a timer. >> right. >> on this belt which is going to go kaboom at 11:00. >> 11:00. and the original plan was that i would be done at 10:00. >> the kidnappers told matt they would text him at 10:00 a.m. with an address where he was to drop off the million dollars taken from his credit union. the text, they said, would be sent from his mother's cell

phone, which they'd taken if her. >> i mean, right at 10:00 i get the first text, are you done yet? >> from the home invaders. >> from the criminals there. and i say to the police, i'm like what do you want me to tell them? >> i talked to matt and i go listen, we're going to roll with it. we're going to tell them that you're still working hard to get the money that they need but what we need to do is just buy a little bit of time. >> matt texted, "it is more money than i anticipated. moving as fast as i can." the kidnappers texted back, "that is good." >> in fact, he hasn't made it into the bank at all. >> and he never made it into the bank. >> he doesn't have any money. >> no. zero. >> and this is all keep them talking, keep them on the line. >> yes. >> at 10:24 a.m., 36 minutes before the device on matt was due to explode, the kidnappers texted again with an address where the money was to be dropped. a nearby cemetery. matt should leave the money at the flagpole. at the same time cops were able to trace where the texts were coming from. near that cemetery.

they raced over but found no one. >> whoever was in that specific area was no longer in the area. we probably missed them by minutes. >> and that only upped the ante for matt. tick-tock. >> now it's 10:35 and i'm like oh, crap. i'm like i don't see the bomb squad. and i'm like, where's the bomb squad? >> it was 25 minutes before the device would detonate. and thoughts, terrible ones, raced through matt's mind. he recalled the shocking story of the pizza delivery guy in erie, pennsylvania who said he was kidnapped and had a bomb locked around his neck. >> i knew that he was forced to try to rob a bank, that it didn't go well, that he was actually killed during all this. >> matt thought about the end of his life. >> your mind starts to play the tricks and you start to think about weird things like am i going to know it when it goes off? do you hear the noise first? do you see a flash first? what are you going to feel? >> for matt the excruciating wait continued as the clock

counted down to 11:00 a.m. >> i'm just sitting there. there are no more texts from the criminals. they stopped. they expect me to be at that drop-off point. we're getting closer. it's 10:45. it's 10:50. i am now in full panic mode. >> coming up -- tick, tok. >> 10:58. 10:59. it's just like the movies. the guys wearing the big suit and he walks up to me and they're examining it. >> and it didn't look good. >> we saw multiple wires running through the tape and around that organic material. >> when "dateline" continues. but if you have sensitive teeth, you probably aren't going to brush your teeth as effectivity because it causes pain. and if you see blood you should do something about it. you know, i talk to dentists every day and they're able to recommend one product, new sensodyne sensitivity & gum, to address both conditions at the same time. if we only treat one versus the other, the patient's mouth is never going to be where it needs to be.

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♪ as federal, state, and local officers secured the area with armor, matt yussman was in a panic. the improvised device duct-taped to his waist was set to go off at 11:00 a.m. just minutes away. >> i start asking like where's the bomb squad? it's getting closer to 11:00. this thing is supposed to go off. >> the bomb squad was now on the scene. >> that was the first and only time i responded to an incident with an individual that had a device actually attached to their body. >> connecticut state police trooper mike avery, now retired, was on the bomb squad. avery's team assembled a bomb robot, thinking they could use it to inspect the device and

maybe defuse it from a safe distance. the bomb squad didn't know what it had walked into. >> we didn't know if this individual was a suspect or a victim. >> unbeknownst to matt, four police sniper teams were getting into position around his car, targeting him. >> he has an explosive device on him and if he doesn't follow our instructions and in the event if he rushed out of that perimeter toward us or toward other law enforcement personnel, deadly force would have to be utilized. >> getting the sniper teams in place, deploying the robot, and figuring out a safe approach all ate up more of the clock. it was just two minutes to 11:00. >> i sat there and watched that clock because i had my cell phone there and it went, you know, 10:58, 10:59. and i'm thinking this is it. >> tick, tok. >> absolutely. he's looking at his watch, i'm looking at my phone, and it's clicking closer to 11:00.

>> to be honest, i didn't pray. i didn't know what to do. i just sat there and count td down and waited. and when that phone hit 11:00, my heart stopped and i just sat there. >> there was no explosion. >> and i looked around and nothing happened. >> after 11:00 passed there was definitely a sigh of relief by everybody there. you know, the last thing we wanted was for anything to happen to matt. >> and i'm like, why am i not dead? finally, it was about 11:05 or so, 11:06, and i said, maybe they lied to me. maybe there is no timer. >> no one except the kidnappers knew what was wrapped around matt. after about ten minutes the bomb squad ordered matt out of his car. >> we could see that there was something attached to his torso, but we could not get a good visual on it. >> avery and his partner abandoned their bomb robot plan because they could get a better sense of the device with the

naked eye from the safety of an armored vehicle. they drew alongside matt. >> at that time he slowly lifted his shirt up and exposed the device to us. and it was completely wrapped around his body with like a heavy-duty gorilla tape. and you could not see anything else other than the large mass in front of his torso. >> then avery made his move. volunteering to remove the device by himself. he suited up and approached matt. this photo was taken at that moment. it had been 11 hours since matt and his mother said they were first kidnapped. now here he was on his knees without a coat. it was nine degrees out. >> and it's just like the movies. the guy's wearing the big suit. he walks up to me and they're examining it. >> reporter: the cops decide to x-ray matt's torso right there in the lot. using a portable x-ray machine it took just one minute to create an image. >> we saw multiple wires running

through the tape and around the organic material. at that point we couldn't determine is it actual c-4 and some type of explosive or is it just a chunk of clay to simulate a hoax device? >> they're looking at it and coming up with a plan, what they're going to do. finally the guy says, you know, we're going to take this off you. >> so i went down with a couple cutting tools, had him remain on his knees facing away from me. lifted his shirt up and slowly started cutting the tape up his back. >> as if matt hadn't already gone through enough this day, another sticky problem came up. >> he was extremely hairy. this was gorilla tape. and it was wrapped around his entire torso. so while removing it we were causing quite a bit of pain because it was removing all the hair from his torso. >> we finally get the bomb off me. and it goes down to my feet, and he goes kick it away and then

run with me and go behind the truck. well, i go to kick the bomb away and it gets stuck to my shoe and i start to run and i start dragging the bomb with me. and the bomb squad guy starts screaming at me, you're dragging the bomb, you're dragging the bomb. and i'm like oh, my god -- >> i'm sorry i'm laughing, but this is a funny thing. stuck on your shoe like a piece of toilet paper. >> yes, exactly. and at the time i wasn't laughing, but looking back now that was one of the more comical moments of the whole ordeal. >> avery says it didn't happen quite like that. he thinks matt's memory may be affected by his emotional drama. >> we did not tell him to run and it was not stuck to him. >> but at last matt's ordeal was over. or so he thought. >> as i get to the first s.w.a.t. guy i tap him on the shoulder, thank you. and they immediately grab both my hands and put me in handcuffs and throw my hands behind my back. and i'm like i don't understand why they're -- what's going on here.

>> coming up -- >> they're like we're doing this for your own safety. and i'm like, my own safety? you're the ones with the guns. >> but police had their reasons to be suspicious. especially after what they heard about matt from his relatives. investigators turn up the heat. and matt starts to sweat. >> i know i'm in trouble. i know that i'm meeting an attorney and that this is not going to go well for me. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues stop dancing around the pain that keeps you up again, and again. advil pm silences pain, and you sleep the whole night. advil pm free! free!! uh...free! free, free, free. free. free free! free!! that's right, turbotax free is free. free,free free free.

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and soon, it's going to be one of theirs. but they would have never even known it existed. if it weren't for the power of targeted tv advertising. it's smart. it grabs people's attention. it works. it's why comcast spotlight is changing its name to effectv. because being effective means getting results. matt yussman was finally free of the device that had been taped to him but was shocked find himself now confined in handcuffs. the local station nbc connecticut caught the moment he was led into an ambulance. >> and i'm like, what are you doing? i'm like, i'm the victim. are you arresting me? they're like no, we're doing this for your own safety. i'm like my own safety? you're the ones with the guns.

and they're like, we're going to take you to the hospital. >> at the hospital investigators had matt checked out. they took these photos. matt's waist, red and raw from where the bomb tech pulled off that duct tape. and they took pictures of the device itself. it turned out that after the massive bomb scare the multiagency security operation and all the white-knuckled fear, the supposed bomb was a fake. nothing more than modeling clay with wires running through it that connected to nothing. there was no timer counting down to 11:00 a.m. and there wasn't any kind of explosive device beneath the bed of matt's mom, valerie. so matt and valerie would have some explaining to do. by now at bristol police station detectives were questioning valerie and were learning some strange details about the kidnappers' m.o. >> what did they use to bind your hands? >> they didn't. they let my hands free. >> your feet were just tied together and to the bed? >> yeah. >> but your hands were free?

>> but my hands were free. yeah. >> why would real kidnappers leave her hands free? and another weird detail. according to valerie, the kidnappers behaved like gentlemen. >> they were trying not to hurt me or do anything that was -- after he taped my feet to the bed he kind of hugged me and he said don't worry, we're not here to hurt you. he brought me in a can of soda. i had cookies on the counter and stuff. he brought them and said are you hungry? i mean, you know, he was being very nice to me. >> investigators took valerie's clothes as evidence as she offered more strange details. the criminals cleaned her home. >> he said i'm going to vacuum the floors. i almost wanted to say to him, you do housekeeping too? you know. i thought that was funny. >> she said they even called her ma'am. >> what is going on? these guys that are calling you ma'am and giving you cookies and juice and now they're vacuuming your house? >> yeah. >> but they're still terrorizing

you. >> yeah. i thought this was bizarre. >> investigators would hear more bizarre details when they brought matt to new britain police headquarters. >> we have a ton of questions for you. >> what was up with that nighttime shower they took while the kidnappers were in his home? >> did you find that odd? >> yes, i did. actually, i don't know why -- >> it was their idea? >> yeah. >> as for that strange nighttime drive the kidnappers took matt on, he didn't have a convincing explanation. >> do you know which was when? >> they kept making terms. >> and why did kidnappers speak to matt using a digitally altered voice? >> you know, like when they do it on tv, they change some guy's voice. something like very similar to that. >> definitely not human voice. >> definitely not human, no. >> former new britain police chief jim wardwell was getting reports on what was being said in those interview rooms. >> i can see how your guys are concerned about what it is you have here. he's talking about these kind of wacko unorthodox kidnappers,

home invaders, who do strange things -- >> the investigators were not ruling out any possibility. mr. yussman was telling a version of events that by a lot of accounts would make people pause and say really? >> so much of matt's story didn't add up. as he sat in the police interview room, the atmosphere turned chilly. the detectives' questions suddenly had sharp edges. >> financially -- >> yeah. >> as far as it goes for you. >> right. yeah. >> what matt didn't know was that morning right after his credit union boss called the police -- >> strapped to a bomb. >> -- investigators started to dig into his life, reached out to people he knew well. found out stuff. >> when we talked to your brother and nephew one of the first things they mentioned was that you're a big gambler. they said you owe -- you owe money, you that gamble a ton. >> and that's completely false. i mean, i don't gamble a ton. >> this was the troubling

pictures coming together for police. a guy with possible money problems, kidnappers who are friendly to his mom who then let him drive himself to rob his own credit union with a bomb that turned out to be a fake. and no trace of any criminals themselves. they figure he had to be somehow involved. >> there's just too many things. you have the -- the ability and the access to do it. okay? so that's why i think maybe you're an unwilling participant in this thing. that somebody leveraged you or forced you into this. >> and if the kidnappers did in fact disguise their faces and voices, that didn't help matt. >> there's only one reason they do that. and that's -- and that's that they know you. okay? >> had matt gotten himself tangled in a scheme to get rich that had spun out of control? >> this is your opportunity to put it all on the table, and if there's something else -- if there's somebody else going on, we can help you. if someone's trying -- >> i don't -- >> -- to leverage you -- >> i'm being completely honest. there is nothing. i have -- i can say uh-uh

equivocably that i have anything to do with this. >> but as detectives pressed matt to fess up his answers didn't satisfy him. >> i'm just going to put the cards on the table. it's the implication that you're somehow involved in this not as a victim. okay? by that we mean it's some sort of inside job. >> investigators seemed so convinced matt wasn't being straight with them they wondered if his mom was somehow part of the scheme. >> have you lied to us while you've been here? >> no. sxwlufn't told us any untruths? >> not that i know -- >> in order to protect matthew or -- >> no. >> police were undeterred. they took matt's dna. >> this is going to be a little bit uncomfortable. >> then they asked him to sit for a polygraph, warning him -- >> is there --

>> i don't see any reason why i would fail a polygraph. >> oh, it would turn out to be bad. very bad for matt. >> it's all under investigation. very, very fluid. >> new britain's then xlees chief jim wardwell held a news conference to calm his nervous community. the city was on edge after being partially shut down when matt yussman showed up at his credit union strapped with an explosive. the bomb turned out to be a take. >> certainly we're considering all possibilities. whether or not he was coerced, doing something against his-l or a suspect. >> could your guys even determine whether the story was true at that point? >> could not. you could not determine exactly what the facts were. >> but you're not finding any corroborating evidence in his vehicle or at his home? >> there's no corroborating evidence other than his mom. >> no evidence to support matt's story. investigators searched his house and car with a fine-toothed comb looking for fingerprints or dna from the kidnappers but found nothing. what's more, matt did take a polygraph test and failed part

of it. results indicated he wasn't telling the truth when asked if he had any involvement in the scheme. >> i know i'm in trouble. i know i'm needing an attorney and this is not going to go well for me. >> matt was right. in the following days authorities got search warrants for his home. they collected computers and phones, subpoenaed his bank records, and started digging into his finances. then matt was placed on paid leave from his job. >> you're investigated not only by the authorities. >> i'm actually now getting investigated by my own credit union to make sure they can clear me. >> but what no one knew is that this unbelievable tale unreeling in connecticut was only on chapter one. while matt tried to save his reputation, investigators in another part of the country were about to uncover a whole series of similar crimes. crimes that would span three states involving high-speed chases and even more victims.

this is where the story takes a turn south, to tennessee. it was april 28th, 2015, two months after the connecticut home invasion. an assistant u.s. attorney happened to be in the milled of the great smoky mountains national park when he got an urgent message. >> hey, please call the fbi when you get cell reception. something about a kidnapping. >> that man was david lewin. he learned that earlier that day a guy named mark ziegler was on his way to work as the ceo of the y-12 federal credit union in a suburb of knoxville. as he was pulling out of his garage, he noticed a garbage can was knocked over. >> so he puts his car in park, gets out of the car, goes to fix the garbage can, at which time he is accosted by two masked men wearing dark clothing, ski masks with guns drawn. >> as an assistant u.s. attorney lewin was assigned to help the fbi investigate the ziegler story from that first day.

he knew nothing about the connecticut case, but the descriptions of the two suspects were similar. one, slender and tall. the other stockier. >> the first guy with the gun had a big sunburst tattoo on his neck that the mask was pulled up so that was exposed. >> distinctive. >> distinctive. and then another person came through who appeared to be a black male with a black bandanna and sunglasses, a black bald head. again with guns drawn. >> the assailants forced ziegler back into his house. his wife and teenage son were inside. all three frightened family members were handcuffed and placed in the living room. mark ziegler was then given a three-page note. it contained chilling details on what was about to happen. he was going to rob his own credit union. coming up -- >> he is to empty the vault of $3.4 million. for every minute that he was late his wife was going to lose a finger.

>> and later, a high-stakes stalemate. >> bank employee refuses to open the vault. >> and a high-speed car chase that could crack the case. >> he's just hit a third vehicle. >> i was like, you know, what's about to happen next? you know. am i about to be caught in a shootout in the middle of the interstate? what are these guys doing? >> then the doors open and here come two guys. >> yeah. >> when "dateline" continues. es with this one little nexgard chew comes the confidence, you're doing what's right, to protect your dog from fleas and ticks for a full month. and it's the only chew, fda approved to prevent infections

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returning to our story, an executive says he was kidnapped by gun men and ordered to rob his own credit union. >> he said this is a c-4 explosive. >> was his story fake too? >> you failed a polygraph. >> but it was about to be deja vu all over again. >> more kidnappings. >> you're going to kit me, kill my child zbll more bank robberies. >> he is to empty the vault of

any and all gold bouillon. >> an arrest. >> and a mystery solved but first some dots would be connected. 800 miles from matt gussman in new brittain, connecticut, unsuspecting authorities in knoxville, tennessee, had no idea they were going to be part of the same story only that they were dealing with an unfolding crime of their own. mark zig gler, two armed assailants were holding mark and his wife and his children hostage and mark had to rob the credit union he ran. >> he is to empty the vault of $3.4 million as well as any and all gold bouillon. >> the ceo was given a strict deadline. he had less than 45 minutes to get the cash and gold. if he failed, consequences would

be devastating. >> for every minute that mr. ziegler was late, his wife was going to lose a finger. and when she ran out of fingers, their adult daughter, brittney, who lived in texas at the time, they had people watching brittney in texas. >> they had eyes on the daughter. >> they had eyes on the daughter and they were going to chop her up and mail her to the family if mr. zig glegler failed to compl >> how do they have so much information? >> we don't know. >> they're getting their facts right. >> they're getting their facts right. >> the lead investigator for the fbi, he said what happened next took a bizarre turn. >> tall slender guy, white male, went outside. a few minutes later a white female comes in through the back door and stays -- >> female? >> female. >> now you have three

assailants. >> three. white female comes in and says he told me to come in and get milk for the baby. >> now you have four players here, one of them is an infant. >> is this a gang or what's going on here? >> obviously we're dealing with a criminal. >> ziegler arrived at his credit union as captured on security cameras. he went to the vault and started loading cash into a black bag given to him by the kidnappers and he slipped one of the employees. >> 911 what is your emergency. >> my ceo sent me a note that says home invasion, call police. he went to the vault. >> ziegler filled the black bag with over $200,000 in cash, then he got in his car, headed towards the parking lot exit where an arriving police officer stopped him. the criminals were listening in to everything through a cell phone in ziegler's pocket. >> mark ziegler is telling them through the phone that the police are here, they're

approaching me, what do you want me to do? and what he heard through the phone was two words, abort, abort and then the phone went dead. >> in the meantime, the kidnappers blindfolded ziegler's wife and son and loaded them into the family's suv. they drove to a parking lot and ziegler's wife and son still inside. eventually the two freed themselves and found someone to free themselves. >> in the end the bank robbers got out alive and no money but they escaped. >> theyuthorities used to create this sketch of a black male and this one of the female suspect who came in the house looking for milk. >> i'm sure the crime scene techs processed the house and vehicles within an inch. did they get lucky? did they find anything? >> found nothing. it's clean. >> fingerprints, fibers? >> no fingerprints, no dna, nothing is left behind.

>> nothing to stop the next attack, and there would be a next one. coming up, a young couple and their baby barricaded behind locked doors. >> pry bar is being used on the bedroom door. >> she said they were going to kill me. >> yes, she said they were going to kill me, they were going to kill my child. >> when "dateline" continues. want to brain better? unlike ordinary memory supplements-neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference. ♪wild thing, you make my heart sing.♪

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connecticut, july 2015. for five months matt gussman remained under a heavy cloud of suspicion. by that time he had read about the tennessee credit union ceo held hostage and told to rob his own vault. gussman told investigators it must be the same guys that kidnapped him and his mother. >> i found this that another

credit union executive was forced to rob his credit union. it's the same people. there's no way it's just a coincidence, copy cat doing this. >> matt had been allowed to return to his job, but he was still under investigation. the fbi had taken over his case from the local police and according to matt, there were serious doubts about his innocence. >> i was told there wasn't a 95% chance i was guilty, i was told there was 100% chance i was guilty and i said, i'm in trouble. >> back in tennessee that same month it would be another family's turn to be traumatized. a young couple was beginning their day, the harriss. tanner, abigail and their 5-month-old son. >> he and abigail were just in this cute little love phase. they had the new baby, they were very happy. >> jamie saterfield covered the story fort knoxville news center. >> she remembers just having this really goofy grin on her face and she leaves the baby

with tanner and she goes down the steps. she's going to take a quick jog, and frankly she said she might come back and get a little flirty with her husband so that's why she had the goofy grin on her face. so she gets down to the bottom of the steps, opens the door and then, boom. >> as soon as she opened the garage she saw two masked men, ski masks, dark clothing with guns. she immediately slams the door shut. >> using a crowbar, one of the assailants ripped open the door. >> she's now in the kitchen with the house. >> abigail ran upstairs. she's trying to warn her husband. >> they then chase her up the stairs. she runs down the hallway to the master bedroom. she slams the master bedroom door shut. >> then her husband locked the door. >> they immediately hear that door frame starting to crack

because the pry bar is now being used on the master bedroom door. >> where she's huddling with her husband and child. >> and zblield how absolutely horrifying. >> there's only one place left to go. they go into the master bathroom. >> they get all the way back into the back -- farthest point they could get away and tanner's trying to hold the door and abbey, the baby's crying and it's chaos. >> that's the last doorway? >> yes. >> the two invaders forced themselves into the bathroom. then one drew a gun and delivered the refrain the others heard. >> you're going to rob your bank for us. >> tanner worked at a bank as a loan officer. he was handcuffed and he and his wife were blindfolded. the attackers then loaded the entire family into the harris's car, including their 5-month-old son. they knew where tanner worked and drove there with the family. >> they're going to keep the son

and the wife while he goes in and robs the bank. >> this is a child? >> baby. >> does this make a special case? >> you're definitely ramping up when you're talking about a baby, defenseless infant. >> tanner went into the vault as seen from his bank's surveillance camera and loaded a black bag with cash. he then went out to the bank's parking lot with the car where the kidnappers were holding his family. >> you see the car stop and the passenger side open. you see tanner harris open up a very large bag. tanner demanded that the kidnappers let his wife and child go before he would turn over the cash. >> at which time the bag is yanked, door is shut and car speeds off and an image of ra husband and father left. >> they eventually left abigail

and their son in their own vehicle while they took off in a get away car. this time they netted $195,000 for their efforts. >> in this case you believe you have two middle age white males. >> correct. >> it's not three? >> not three. >> not a woman? >> no woman, no black male, no tattoo reported. >> after you had two of these things, how is it playing as a story? >> i can't say that people were universally frightened. i think the greater harm initially was that people were suspicious of these families. that's what i heard. i had cop friends who were suspicious. we as journalists were kind of suspicious. really? they kidnapped you but then they let you go? you know, it just sounded unbelievable. >> unbelievable, maybe, but it would happen again this time in northern tennessee. three months after the harris case a young mother was starting her day and struggling to get her toddler son secure in her

car. >> he wants candy for breakfast and he is throwing a fit so she's quite distracted anyway. when all of a sudden, you know, she feels movement. >> brooke lie ones didn't have an chance to look. >> she was under attack. >> she looks up and here's a guy with an assault rifle pointed at her. >> two male attackers forced brooke into the car with her son. that's right. they headed here. this credit union where she worked as a $9 an hour teller. >> the people knew where brooke worked. they knew how to get to her bank without being told. >> jeff glanton is a special agent with the fbi. he investigated brooke's case and says she was instructed to go inside and get $350,000 or else. >> she's been told by these two guys if the police are called, if she doesn't do what she is instructed then there's going to be a shootout. she and her child will be in the

middle of it. >> a frantic brook screamed because her 3-year-old son was being held hostage outside. that's when brooke's day got even worse. >> she finds her boss in the bank and says, two men have carson with guns, i need to get into the vault. her boss refuses to open the vault. >> who of us can be judgmental in that kind of circumstance but -- >> right. >> masked gunmen have her child outside the door. >> brooke lyons response was singular. she pointed at her and said, you just killed us. >> the credit union security camera's caught the security moments. she was desperately looking around running for help. all she can think about is her son. she runs out of the bank, opens the passenger's side of the car. throws the bag in there, drapes herself over carson, begs them

not to shoot her and tells them to drive because the cops are being called as they speak. >> surprisingly the criminals eventually let both of them go leaving them in her car while they took off in another vehicle. they didn't get any money. two bizarre robbery stories had the knoxville rumor mill buzzing about inside jobs but now there were three. people were wondering who would be next. fbi investigators were frustrated. they had no solid leads. by that time they had already released sketches of the suspects for the attack on the ziegler family hoping that might advance the case. no one would have guessed that the big break in the investigation would happen when this assistant restaurant manager took his fiance's little red car for a drive on the highway. coming up -- >> once he hit me i knew at this point, you know, this guy's a run-in. >> a high speed car chase reveals a subtle clue. >> he's just hit a third

vehicle. >> it struck me that those people had discipline and they had purpose. >> when "dateline" continues. is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. hey! my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. who's the dummy now? whoof! whoof! so get allstate where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me. sorry! he's a baby!

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i'm cori coffin with the top stories. andrew cuomo has announced all public sools will be closed monday in an effort to stem the spad of coronavirus. l of th schools will cse this and nationwide at least 33 states have decided to close public schools. montana and arizona are among the latest states to make the announce grapples with the growing outbreak of coronavirus. now back to "dateline." it was surreal. it was like, you're not going to believe what happened.

he wasn't a bank executive or teller. not another victim. back in september 2015, more than a month before brooke lyons, adam was an assistant restaurant manager on his way to a job interview. driving west on i-40 in north carolina in a car he borrowed from his fiance. >> what kind of car did she have? >> it's a 2005 ford focus. >> little car? >> yeah. yeah. little car. you know? gets you where you need to go. >> if you tried telling adam he was on his way to becoming perhaps the most crucial player in a case that had befuddled an army of players, he had thought you crazy but that's about what to happen. >> i looked in my rear-view mirror i see a cop car, suv. that guy must have been going too quick. he's getting pulled over. >> take over a vehicle, i-40

westbound. >> this is the dash cam video. it's that same dramatic high speed chasetage we s of or story. >> i looked back and they were still following this guy and that's when i kind of knew something was a little off. it's like, why is this guy not pulling over? >> instead, the driver pulled up to adam's little red car in the right-hand lane. >> all of a sudden this black suv is on the tail. he's making these swerving gestures kind of like swipes, this type of motion. all i know is i remember putting two hands on the wheel, he hit me. >> just struck one vehicle. >> freeze frame that moment, what the heck is going on? >> right. once he hit me, i knew at this point this guy is a run-in obviously. it's like you're not going to hit me and keep going with two

cops on you unless something's going. >> adam then watched in horror as the black suv hit another car with such force -- >> he's just hit a third vehicle --? it spun out of control and crashed into the barrier. >> i was like, what's about to happen next, you know? am i about to be caught in a shootout in the middle of the interstate. what are these guys doing. >> then the doors open, here comes two guys? >> yeah. adam saw the driver and passenger leap out of the car carrying black bags. >> two guys started to sprint. >> stop. >> crossed the concrete barrier like an olympic track runner and sprinting through the wooded area. >> jump and run. jump and run i-40. >> north carolina troopers decided not to give the men chase, not until reinforcements could come up. adam called his fiance. >> i was like, babe, you won't believe what just happened.

she's like, no way, are you serious? couldn't believe t. sounded like a movie scene. >> that should have been it. a crazy tale to tell the grandkids at thanksgiving hence. that's where it took a left turn into the twilight zone. adam's fiance called her dad. >> i received a call from my oldest daughter who told me basically you're not going to believe what happened with adam and immediately i thought there was a problem en route to his job interview. my future son-in-law has missed up a job interview. >> let me ask you an interesting biographical detail. you are not only his father-in-law, you're what? >> a special agent from the fbi. >> some things he heard about the chase were rather strange. like the way the driver tried to ram adam's car from behind. o'hare recognized that as a police tactic called a pit move. >> it's a police intervention

technique. it is a trained technique -- >> what's the goal, end the hot pursuit and get away? >> the goal is to get that engine to shut down and get ahold of the driver and make your arrest. if you're a criminal and you spin vehicles around, you can wreak havoc on the pursuing law enforcement officials. >> and there was something unusual about the way those men fled. >> i had no clue as to why they felt it so important to grab those bags or why they would choose to cross an oncoming interstate to make that get away? it just didn't make any sense. >> it confounded the north carolina troopers, too. despite searching the area, authorities never did find the two men. agent o'hare didn't think much more about it until a little more than a month later he was assigned to help on a case up in elizabethton, as luck would have it, the brooke lyons case. >> little details stuck in my

mind. >> it was very well organized. >> at ththat jogged agent o'har mind. >> it struck me that those people had discipline, they had purpose. >> both cases also involved two suspects and black bags. >> i thought that it's not a guarantee that they're one and the same but i wasn't aware of anyone else who would fit the bill. >> you're not pulling this out of a computer now, your gut is telling you something is going on here. >> it was some experience and instinct that led me to believe the two episodes could be connected. >> what started as a hunch was about to break this case wide open. coming up -- >> an abandoned gps with a roadmap of a crime spree. >> it looked that they were casing the bank. >> leading to another high speed chase with a slightly different ending. >> get on the ground. get on the ground. get on the ground.

>> i'm not involved. i don't know what's going on. hitchhiking. i'm just trying to get a ride. >> when "dateline" continues. nice. but when allergies attack,f any the excitement fades. allegra helps you say yes with the fastest non-drowsy allergy relief and turning a half hearted yes, into an all in yes. allegra. live your life, not your allergies.

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a sophisticated bank robbing crew was on the loose in east tennessee. they had already terrorized at least three unsuspecting families. >> we have no clue who is responsible for this. >> agent, how bad are these guys? >> i would consider these two individuals some of the most dangerous criminals to walk in east tennessee. >> tips were coming in and investigators chased down every lead but turned up nothing. by late october 2015 all the fbi was left with was that hunch agent o'hare had that a bizarre highway chase miles away in north carolina had something to do with the tennessee bank robberies.

he shared his inkling. >> hey, not for nothing that this happened. it might be something. so at this point it was really the only least maining stone that we needed to go turn to see if there was anything to it. >> so they took a close look at what happened in north carolina. agent blanton and agent rosera learned the crazy car chase started with a traffic stop for speeding. they wanted to take a look at the dash cam of the vehicle of the suspects fleeing the crime. >> descriptions similar. one tall and athletic and one a little bit thicker, stockier, black bags stuck out because both the zieglers and harrisons had described these individuals when they came to the house with black bags. >> your first pass, what did you think? >> i knew we had bad guys. i thought we may have something here, enough to continue the investigation.

at this point i did not know if it was our bank robbers or if it wasn't. >> turns out investigators had gone through the suspect's black banged up suv and they found a gps device. >> it can be a gold mine of information? >> tell me where you've been? >> it can. >> fbi special agents searched the device and found something intriguing. one was a credit union near knoxville. >> it looked that this was set up that they were casing the bank and looking for escape routes and the like away from that bank. i talked to jeff and i said, it may not be our bank robbers but they're somebody's bank robbers. >> another gps route led to a luxury rental home in maggie valley. a beautiful north carolina tourist destination. investigators reached out to the property manager, melissa plass. >> the fbi basically stated that they just had some concerns and needed to know who was staying

in the home. >> melissa told the agents that about five months earlier she had received an inquiry. two men, a writer named ron bradford and his assistant were looking for a place to stay while they worked on their book. melissa showed them around. they were in the market for something secludewide a garage. >> we traveled around the area, looked at a couple of homes and they choose one. >> the men were staying in a home aptly named southern comfort. it was a month-to-month rental and they paid in cash. melissa said they were some of her best tenants. >> these guys treated me with utmost respect. they were very kind. on an occasion they actually brought me a potted plant and a thank you card for, you know, being such hospitable rental company, i guess. >> they hardly seemed like gun wielding kidnappers. >> agent blanton ran down the name of the author ron bradley.

>> did the name check out? >> no. >> for blanton, the clincher came when she asked about the car. >> a white lexus suv. there was a black suv that was burned after the robbery. >> she said, yes, black suv, lexus earlier in the summer but she hadn't seen them in it in several months. >> did you think, i gotcha, i'm on you now. >> at this point i was convinced, yes. >> it was time for a good old-fashioned stakeout. agent blanton assembled a team to keep tabs on the men. >> did you see them coming and going? >> we d. we were unable to identify who they are. >> and investigators learned the men were not alone. >> surveillance team was able to ascertain that there was a female at the cabin. >> did you know who she was? >> we did not know who they were. >> remember the ziegler home invasion, there was the woman who came in the house and asked for milk for her baby. could this be her?

authorities waited patiently for an opportunity to take the suspects down. two weeks after they started their surveillance they finally got their chance. assistant u.s. attorney david bloom. >> day before thanksgiving law enforcement sees them get into a silver nissan path finder with stolen maryland license plates. the decision was made to stop the vehicle. >> it was another high speed chase. sirens blaring. the suv weaved around traffic, then suddenly slowed down. >> we see the suv pull over. we see the passenger's side door open. we see a person get out of the vehicle holding a black bag and then the suv takes off. >> get on the ground. get on the ground. get down. put your hands up? >> one down, one to go. but the man on the ground, well, he wasn't behaving like a

criminal caught in the act. he was behaving like a victim. >> i'm not involved. i don't know what's going on. i don't know who this guy is. i'm hitchhiking. >> did the cops get the wrong guy? they'd have to sort that out later. there was still a van on the loose barrelling down the highway. coming up -- there's more than one way to catch a crook. >> driver jumps out and takes off on foot. red pickup truck pins him under the wheel. >> runs him over. >> you can't make this stuff snup. >> you can't. >> later, a suspect gives up a chilling clue. >> his fist is opened up and there's a crumpled piece of paper. >> when "dateline" continues. reassurance you're doing what's right, to protect your dog from fleas and ticks for a full month. this one little nexgard chew is the #1 vet recommended protection.

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north carolina state troopers were back on the tail of the suv after its passenger bolted out to the side of the interstate, but as the suv fled, the driver made a serious error. he cut off a red pickup truck.

>> red pickup truck didn't like that. >> road rage exploded. the driver of the red pickup took off in hot pursuit of the suv leap frogging the state troopers. >> the police are now following the red pickup truck who's following the silver path finder. >> the lead position is mr. road rage. >> right. >> why did you cut me off? >> right. >> with the trooper and the pickup driver still giving chase, the suv left the interstate, drove to a construction site and went right into a ditch. >> driver jumps out and takes off on foot. the red pickup truck pins him under the rear wheel. >> runs him over? >> runs him over. >> you can't make this stuff up? >> that's the end of the chase. police pull up. they take the driver into custody. >> the driver of the suv was banged up with a broken collarbone, broken ribs and burns. both he and the passenger who rolled out of the suv were taken to a local jail but who were

they? investigators learned the driver was brian witham, a man with a record since his 20s. >> given a chance he would kill you. >> agent nocera tried to get answers. >> witham comes in and right away says he's not going to rat. >> the passenger who claimed to be a hitchhiker said his name was michael benadi. he was initially charged with -- >> there should be no arrest here. i got thrown out of a car. you know what i mean? there's no -- there's nothing. >> bragged to the guard that he was a big deal executive. >> the ceo of a bank. this stupid little arrest is gonna destroy me. >> investigators learned that benanti founded a company and

was even profiled in the wall street journal in 2014. his company was called prisoner assistant and it managed finances for inmates in prison. turns out benanti had a lot of experience in that area. >> he has multiple felony convictions to include attempted murder of a police officer, robbery, theft of property and most importantly a federal conviction of conspiracy to commit bank robbery. >> what did you make of this business he had? >> benati was stealing from the business. part of the reason the banks were being robbed is so he could pay the inmates he was stealing from. >> he wasn't some random hitchhiker as he originally told police. the two were in cahoots and they had a long history together. they had met in the late '90s at a prison in pennsylvania and devised a plan to escape but the attempt failed. then both of them were sent to

the super max prison in colorado. now again in custody benanti paced about, called his sister asking desperately that she bail him out. >> danielle, i'm very, very sorry to have to give you this call. i love you. i'm in prison. >> then fbi agent blanton arrived to interview him. >> who did you see? >> he was extremely arrogant. he is the smartest person in the room no matter what room he was in. he was very proud that he was a graduate of super max and that he had been in super max prison. benati was proud of being a criminal. >> by now they were sure they had the right guys. in part because of something that happened when benati was arrested. >> benati is white knuckling something in his hands, clinched fist. his fist is opened up and there's a crumpled piece of paper. >> the feds took a look at it.

that crump ld paper had names and numbers that sent chills down their spines. >> three names, handwritten, bank executives in green borrow, spartanburg. bank names, titles. >> they believed these were the next victims so with a search warrant in hand, fbi agents spent thanksgiving day and black friday of 2015 in the smokey mountains at a house called southern comfort. >> there they found evidence of a sophisticated criminal enter price and evidence that would finally reveal who that mystery woman was, the woman who want the milk for her baby. >> agents horks is this? coming up -- >> the answer and a warrant. >> be careful what you put out for the world to see. the minute you post or hit send, you have no guarantee who's going to be able to access that.

>> baby picture is out there. >> baby picture is out there. >> when "dateline" continues. >>s

it was thanksgiving day 2015 at a house in the mountains of north carolina, but there was no family gathering inside, just fbi agents and a prosecutor. they were searching for evidence that tied michael benanti and witham to the crimes. >> when we originally walked in the amount of evidence and items that were in the house was staggering. >> including weapons, electronic devices, cameras, fake law enforcement ids, fake tattoos and massive amounts of photos. among them, this picture of benanti and witham plus an

inadvertent selfie. taken as they cased a bank. when the agents told brian witham what they had, he went from mum to spilling everything he knew to the feds. >> he laid out the entire scheme, his role in the scheme. >> it was a chilling criminal enterprise that involved learning every detail about their intended victim's lives. step by step they gathered intelligence. first they identified the bank. >> they would go to that bank, they would look on its social media page, hopefully get names and pictures of the people they thought would be targets. >> then they stalked the bank employees online. >> they could find them on linked-in, they could find them on facebook. >> victims would rise and fall on their target list depending on the quantity and quality of social media evidence that they put out there for the world to see. >> for example, in the harris case, they saw pictures of the couple's newborn baby on facebook. >> with the harris, they were

planning on doing that one earlier but they noticed that mrs. harris had given birth and they pushed the date back. >> facebook also revealed that the zieglers had an adult daughter who lived in texas. >> we have people surveilling your child in texas. >> once their victims were picked out, the spying turned up close and personal. witham would surveil them at home, hiding in their yards, watching and documenting their every move. >> commando style, go pro cameras would be in their house. brian witham would camo up, have some food, put him up in a tree right next to where the children were and the families in the backyard and watch quietly making notes of when lights go off, when they come on, when people go to the kitchen table, when they go out to get the paper. >> the duo would then take all the information they had gathered, reams and reams of personal details, surveillance photos, maps, compile them into

a victim packet. agents found over a dozen of these packets or dossiers in a black briefcase in the house. >> we have numerous packages that have names, address, children, grandchildren. >> was that revealing? i'm seeing spartanburg which is south carolina? >> that's correct, georgia. >> georgia, future business? >> yes. >> future victims which included some of the names and addresses on that crumpled piece of paper that benanti had clutched in his hand. >> we found thousands upon thousands of photographs on sd cards of some of these houses, locations, people. >> the dossiers weren't just future targets, the agents also found one of a target they already knew very well, brooke lyons. >> what's the quality of their surveillance. >> i'm a division s.w.a.t. team leader. these are quality that i could use for a hit. >> or execute a swarpt or anything else. >> in talking to witham, the

agents learned why they never found any physical evidence, no dna, fingerprints or fibers. he and benanti made sure not to leave a trace behind. >> bwitham shaved his body. >> while he was in the tree he brings a jug to relieve himself. >> but now even with the two men in custody, the feds still didn't know how many others were involved. who was the african-american man and the woman the zieglers described? was there anyone else involved? >> three, four, five, six people. are we looking for two? what are the races? what are the genders that we're looking for? >> brian witham gave them the answer. they bought masks. >> agents horks is this? >> that's the white female from the ziegler robbery in 2015. >> the one that said the baby

needs some milk? >> yes. >> remember, the fbi had released a sketch of her to the public. it was easterly close. >> what's actually happened here. >> brian witham had a fake tattoo on his neck, walked outside, put that mask on and then came in and acted like a female coming in looking for milk for the baby. >> as for the african-american man, he was a mask as well. benati's -- >> yes, they spent roughly $1500 a piece we found out. >> they were sewing in deception and red herrings and things designed to confuse the victims? >> gender switch, racial switch. >> yes. >> all of that because the victims are then going to report all of that to the police and the police will then be looking for a blackman, a woman with long brown hair. >> and it worked. witham also toegd the agents that he and benati didn't strike just in tennessee. >> he lays out a crime spree up

and down the eastern seaboard that began in the summer of 2014. >> he told them about a heist the two of them pulled off in 2014 in a small pennsylvania town. sure enough, there was a tall slender man and a heavy set guy. they held the tellers at gun point and made off with $156,000. >> sure enough, we go up and we learn that that bank robbery was still unsolved. >> then witham told them about another job, it was in connecticut. that's when the fbi finally connected the tennessee cases to matthew yussman. >> the poor victim had been regarded as a suspect and he lived under the thought of that until witham gave up the story? >> yes, investigators were looking up leads, they were striking out the same as we were down here. >> of course, matt gussman didn't know any of this. he was under suspicion.

in fact, he just appeared before a grand jury. >> it didn't go well. it was very obvious that they were going to recommend an indictment. >> that was november. then on december 1st matt thought his worst fear had come true. his boss said the fbi was coming to his office. >> and i tell him that i'm not going to allow them to arrest me right in front of all of my staff. >> the meeting was about an arrest all right, but it wasn't matt's. >> he said, we've apprehended two individuals down in north carolina. we have overwhelming evidence that connects them to your case. you are now no longer a suspect. you are now completely exonerated. >> matt and his mom had been telling the truth all along. >> the overwhelming emotion -- i broke down and cried in the office because all the emotion just came up that i had been bottling up for nine months because i was trying to show that i -- i was truly innocent. >> and as he learned more about

his kidnapper's mo, some of the strange details about his story made sense. for instance, remember how his mom said the kidnappers used their vacuum to clean up, that's because they didn't want to leave any evidence behind and they found him on his credit union website. then they saw his picture and learned where he lived on facebook. the criminals watched him. >> you were surveilled. >> i still can't handle that i had people surveilling and i didn't notice. if i had just paid more attention, would i have stopped this? >> in 2017 benanti was convicted on 23 counts including armed bank extorsion and kidnapping. he's now serving four consecutive life sentences plus 155 years but he still maintains his innocence. brian witham who struck a deal was sentenced to 30 years. >> what's the lesson for people here? >> be careful what you put out for the world to see. the minute you hit post or hit send, you have no guarantee

who's going to be able to access that at some point. >> that baby picture's out there. >> that baby picture is out there. you talking about where you run, how long, it's all out there. >> these guys exploited all of those things. >> they mined it all. >> as for matt jussman, he's still upset at how he was treated by the fbi and authorities. >> former police chief. >> he'd like to take a swing at you guys. >> rightly so. mr. jussman went through so much. for any of us to have added to any of his anguish is regretful. he is a victim of a horrific crime and a good man and a courageous man. >> and while the men behind this crime will be in prison for years and years into the future, all of their victims seem to have been deeply traumatized. reporter jamie savage. >> they will never be able really i think to fully rest easy in their own homes. that's the price i think they pay with security.

>> your life can never be the same. it never will be no matter how much i put on that face and tell everybody that i'm fine. i'll never be the same after this. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." ♪ someone just sucks the life out of you and tells you your dream life isn't going to happen, that wedding you're planning, you don't get to have it. evil exists. evil dwells in people. >> it was a night like this just before halloween, a killing that still haunts. >> found him, he's lying there and i couldn't feel a pulse. >> the young dad engaged to be