The Payroll That Never Came

The Defendant and three companions, two of them armed, set out by car to rob a payroll clerk they believed would be carrying about $1,200 to pay construction workers. The Defendant's role was to identify the clerk. The men drove to a bank and then to several construction sites hunting for their target, with police following close behind. They never found the clerk — he was nowhere in sight. When the Defendant jumped out of the car and entered a building to look for the payroll man, the watching officers moved in and arrested all four. The Prosecution charged attempted robbery, arguing the men had done everything short of the holdup itself. The Defense argued that because the intended victim was never located, the men never came dangerously close to actually committing the robbery.