Accused Bank Robber Had Delusions of Saving the World, Defense Says

Suffering from delusions of devils and fallen angels, James Ambrose McGrath believed he was saving the world from evil forces and acting within the law of the Lord when he robbed nine San Fernando Valley banks of more than $1 million, a defense attorney told a federal court jury Friday.

McGrath, 49, is one of two men charged in an 18-count indictment alleging bank robbery and firearms violations in connection with a sophisticated string of armed robberies throughout the Valley, including the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history.

Attorney John D. Robertson told jurors during his opening statements Friday that McGrath, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, also suffers from visions of conspiracies concerning the U.S. tax system, a coming thermonuclear invasion by foreign countries and the theft of his co-defendant Gilbert David Michaels’ inheritance.

The attorney portrayed his client as a man who has long suffered from mental illness, which runs in his family, noting that McGrath’s father died in a mental hospital. McGrath continues to believe “he was preordained and commissioned by the Lord to protect you from the forces of evil,” Robertson said.

Assistant U.S. Attys. Kendra S. McNally and Christopher Tayback, however, have portrayed McGrath as a meticulous, armed robber who terrorized bank employees and went to great lengths to avoid being captured, including disguising himself in costumes during the yearlong robbery spree.

McGrath is being tried separately from Michaels, 48, who in March was found incompetent to stand trial and is now being housed at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., said attorney Timothy Lannen.

McGrath and Michaels were captured by the FBI in March of last year just minutes after the robbery of a Home Savings of America branch in Woodland Hills. They were eventually charged with committing nine robberies, including one in Tarzana that allegedly netted them $430,000, the most ever taken in a Los Angeles bank robbery.

Following their arrests, authorities uncovered a cache of 119 guns and more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of the luxurious, four-story rented house the two men shared in West Hills, according to court records. Under the house, FBI agents said they discovered a military-style bunker complete with thick fire doors and a shooting range.

The FBI said the two men told agents that they were preparing for Armageddon, the biblical last battle between the forces of good and evil.

McGrath is the author of a 300-page document about Michaels’ life and the belief by both men that a massive conspiracy, involving banks and a jealous candy maker, systematically worked to destroy Michaels’ fudge-making business.

Rose Ann Michaels, Gilbert Michaels’ wife, maintained during an interview earlier this week that the two men committed the robberies to get a public platform to expose that conspiracy.

“I think this trial is going to take a turn at one point as to what Gil and Jim are about,” Rose Ann Michaels said. “It’s not about bank robbery. It’s about corruption in the government. You have a man whose inheritance has been stolen out from beneath him.”