ROCHESTER, N.Y.–A trial of man charged with murder during a credit union robbery more than 15 years ago has resurrected a frightening day for many, including a former CU employee who said she wondered what it would “feel like to get shot myself.”
In what was a long-time cold case, Richard Leon Wilbern was described by prosecutors as a "desperate and disgruntled man” in 2003 who was struggling financially after being fired from Xerox Corp. for constant absenteeism. It was in that state of desperation, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Gregory, Wilbern walked into Xerox FCU on the Webster, N.Y. Xerox campus wearing an FBI jacket and a bulletproof vest, robbed it and fatally shot a member, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. According to police, Wilbern identified himself as an FBI agent as part of a ruse to convince the CU he was there for a security assessment.
Wilbern, 59, is currently on trial in federal court for the robbery and the homicide of CU member Raymond Batzel, 51, who was shot after refusing the robber's demand that he lie down on the floor with other members and CU employees.
‘Shot Point Blank’
Wilbern "shot Mr. Batzel point-blank, right through the neck, killing him," the Democrat & Chronicle quoted Gregory as telling the court.
As CUToday.info reported earlier, the Xerox FCU murder/robbery was a long-time cold case before police and the FBI received a tip in 2016 offering new information. The FBI then obtained a DNA sample from Wilbern that allegedly matches an umbrella he left behind. Police said the odds of the DNA matching someone else would be one in 6.9 trillion.
Among those testifying as witnesses is Kimberly Scofero, who worked as a loan processor at the credit union. According to the Democrat & Chronicle, Scofero’s office was the closest to the CU’s main entrance and allowed her to see people entering and exiting.
A Close Witness
“She said she saw the suspect as he walked past her office, which consisted of partitions and windows in the front. The suspect entered the neighboring office of Felicia Wyatt, another loan processor,” the news outlet reported. “Scofero overheard their conversation and said she could hear the suspect opening his briefcase. Prosecutors said the suspect had two firearms in the briefcase. Scofero witnessed the suspect shooting Batzel after he refused to get on the ground.”
In what the Democrat & Chronicle called the “most chilling moment of her testimony,” Scofero told the court, “I was wondering what it was going to feel like to get shot myself, because I didn’t know what was going to happen.”