Ga. woman returns $120K that fell from armored car

By Russ Bynum Associated Press

SAVANNAH - Wanda Johnson was driving to pawn her television for $60 to pay her electric bill when temptation fell from the back of an armored car. She stopped in traffic to scoop up the plastic sack that had fallen into the street. Inside, she found $120,000 in cash.

"I'm like, well, this must be the answer. I'm going to keep it," said Johnson, a single mother of five. "Then I'm like, no, don't do that. It's not yours. It's not right." Johnson, 34, struggled to make a decision during the rest of her Tuesday shift as a housekeeper at Memorial Hospital. Finally, four hours after stumbling onto easy money, she called the police to return it.

"There's so many things I could do with it," she said. "But I wouldn't be satisfied." The cash bundle - $5, $10 and $20 bills used to stock ATMs - was being transported by armored car from the vault of a local bank by EM Security of Savannah. During the trip, a compartment door on the truck fell open. Johnson, driving behind the truck on her lunch break, saw the money bag fly into the air. While other cars swerved to avoid it, she stopped to pick it up. Inside was a bundle about the size of a shoe box. Johnson said she didn't open the bag immediately. But on the outside someone had written in marker the words "deposit" and "$120,000."

Johnson returned to work and stashed the cash under the back seat of her car. After her shift, she peeked inside and saw a smaller plastic bag stuffed with stacks of $20 bills. Johnson said she drove to her pastor's house, looking for encouragement to do the right thing. They talked and prayed, then reported the missing money. Another armored car escorted by police and FBI agents arrived within 20 minutes to retrieve it.

"It's not like she waited four or five days until her conscience got the best of her," said police spokesman Bucky Burnsed. "What she did, she did immediately. And I think that is phenomenal." Johnson will receive a reward for her honesty, said Warren Smith, armored car supervisor for EM Security. He declined to specify the amount. "We're going to make sure that she's well taken care of," Smith said. "What she did took a lot of courage, a lot more courage than most people have in this world today."

Johnson admits it was a tough decision. Some co-workers teased her during her hospital rounds Wednesday, saying she should have kept the cash. And she still had to pawn her TV. But Johnson said she heard no complaints about the money from her five children. "I was just shocked," said Johnson's 13-year-old daughter, Ashley. "I said, well, that was the best thing to do."

-- Phil Maley (maley@cnw.com), September 08, 2001

Answers

I heard this story on the radio this a.m. She got $5,000 reward. So I guess she was able to get her stuff out of hock and live a little easier for a couple of months.

Nice to see a good deed, and one rewarded.

-- Margaret J (mjans01@yahoo.com), September 09, 2001.

stupid bitch. how much you wanna bet she was a black welfare queen?

-- the little bastard (jesus_killed_cats_for_table_meat_@yahoo.com), September 11, 2001.

Oh, what a good initial story! I was led past weekend, to a circumstance I had not intended. I happen-chance to go into a convenience story to buy a coke. Behind counter person was beside himself because some person had just walked out, without payiny for a coke. Well, I was in a hurry (like most folks), and the counter person was delaying my time, while they were calling the police. I handed him the cost of the thief's drink, I said "It is Paid, cancel the call". He was so worked up, he started in a loud voice to recount all the thefts this one person had done on his store. He, in a loud voice, (not American), "You think this is a joke". I leveled his eye and said "NO, I do not think this is a joke". At that point, he bacame confused with the situation. I saw his confusion and I said, "I have paid you for her drink, therefore there is no crime, so cancel the police call. NOW, I owe you for MY Drink, which is $1.09, plus tax He brought himself to his senses and operated the register. As I left the store, I looked to the left and right, but I never saw the face of the accused person.

-- My Story (andIam@sticking.com), September 11, 2001.