Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: Opinion

I've decided that I'm going to start issuing an "Idiot of the Month Award."

This month's winners are Brian Tirao Deguzman, Allen Tam Vu and Armando Anaya Mendez, who were inspired by sources no less ridiculous than the "Ocean's Eleven" movie to rob a Wells Fargo bank in San Jose.

Now, the dictionary definition of the word "idiot" is "a simple, unlearned person."

It would seem that a trio that can be convinced to rob a Wells Fargo based on what they saw in a big-budget movie involving casino robberies and George Clooney would be rather fitting of this title.

It was an inside job, according to an article in the San Jose Mercury News. Deguzman was the branch manager, and Mendez, who also worked there, was responsible for ordering a large sum of money, unseasonably, in preparation for the robbery.

Their friend, Vu, wearing the foolproof disguise of a hat and sunglasses, grabbed Mendez from outside the branch, walked him in and demanded that he and Deguzman open the safe.

The money was handed to him in a nice paper bag, and Vu walked off.

Interestingly, though, Vu made off with some undisclosed six-figure amount. According to the article, this is pretty rare, since most robbers make it out with perhaps a few thousand dollars.

The order of the unseasonable extra money I mentioned was the red flag that helped catch the trio.

It's one of those cases in which the thinking is so smart that it's stupid. Even in the realm of movie plots, this idiot trio, who apparently spent months planning this robbery post "Ocean's Eleven" viewing, should have realized the goofy amount of loopholes contained within their plan, which within 14 hours of its hatching had already seen their capture.

It all opens up so many questions. If "Ocean's Eleven" inspired them to rob a bank, would "Three Amigos" have inspired them to don large hats and ride mules around some desert, searching for a silent spaghetti western to star in?

Would "Wild Hogs" have inspired a cross-country motorcycle trip laced with poor humor?

This opens up a whole discussion about stimulus and how much responsibility it holds for the actions of the dumb.

After the Columbine shootings, the computer game "Doom" and the music of Marilyn Manson became scapegoats as the key bad influences that caused the kids to go wrong.

But really, am I to believe that every psychotic killer listens to some sort of teen-goth music and plays violent video games? Are there no more wild-eyed gunmen who listen to the Beatles and play pinball?

Continued...

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