Larry Porter Chism - Tennessee - 1978 (Added in 1988)

He was convicted in 1974 on 4 counts of armed robbery. I was one of the 'counts', i.e. I was one of the four people he robbed. The heroin smugling conviction was a Federal case that convicted him later. I was a student at Memphis State University (now University of Memphis.) In my post-trial conversations with the 2 DA's that prosecuted the case, along with talks with the 2 detectives that worked it, Chism considered himself to be a 'little Mafia Don' and had a 'crew' that he controlled. He was a heroin dealer but also he and his crew robbed other drug dealers (of cash and 'product'.) The authorities were 'on' to them, apparently from previous robberies of drug dealers. The dorm I lived in was like a hotel. It had a rooms with 2 beds, 2 desks/storage, and a sink. The toilet and tub/shower was between 2 rooms. That is, 4 students shared the bathroom between the 2 rooms, something like a hotel suite. My roomate and I knew the guys living in the other room were heavy pot smokers (it was the 1970s on a college campus) but were nice, likeable guys. We ate out with them a few times and they always picked up the check! Unknown to us at the time was the fact that they were also small-time drug dealers and sold heroin as well as pot. (From a dorm room!) This was why Chism and 2 of his crew robbed them. Unfortunately, after robbing them the robbers asked what was beyond that door, they replied "just 2 guys who live in the next room." We seldom locked our side of the bathroom door and were asleep when they came into our room and robbed my roomate and me. They got a total of $3 (all I had) and my roomate's watch, which turned out to be a key piece of evidence. When it was over I remember that the two guys in the other room were not eager to call the police but I called them right away.  Little did I know... This is what started the whole unravelling of Chism's 'empire.' He and his attorney interviewed me in my apartment before the trial (legal discovery process) and I sat 6 feet away from Chism and his lawyer. He didn't look dangerous at all and was calm and polite. Since I couldn't identify any of the robbers (they made me and my roomate lie face down, wore big hats to cover their faces, and the lights in the room were off, before they turned them on), the interview lasted only 30 minutes or so. They thanked me and left. Now this guy who was in my apartment sitting across from me is one of the most wanted men in America. Life is strange.