'Dougherty Gang': Who Are They?
A gang of three siblings is wanted by the FBI for their involvement in a high stakes crime spree.
The three Dougherty siblings – Lee Grace, 29, Ryan, 21, and their half-brother Dylan, 26 – will face charges for an attempted murder of a police officer as well as armed robbery.
Warrants are out for their arrests.
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The siblings have been on the run since last Tuesday when they allegedly opened fire on a Zephyrhills, Fla., cop who had been chasing their white Subaru for speeding violations. The cop was not injured, but his tire was blown out by a shot fired by one of the siblings.
Five hours later, the gang showed up at a Georgia bank with masks and carrying AK-47s. They shot up at the bank ceiling and then escaped with an undisclosed amount of money, according to the police.
Lee Grace Dougherty, a dancer at the Cheaters strip club in Cocoa Beach, Fla., is no stranger to crime. Just this past May, court records reveal that the woman was charged with multiple felonies after a traffic accident in South Brevard. She allegedly left the scene of the accident.
Not to be outdone, her brothers have their own rap sheet. Ryan was sentenced on Aug. 1 to 12 years of probation for sending over 400 sexual text messages to an 11-year-old girl he met on Myspace. In his plea deal, according to the New York Post, Ryan was required to register as a sex offender. However, as of last Tuesday he had failed to do so. Police believe, according to the Post, that the three fled the highway cop because they did not want to risk Ryan going to jail if caught.
On her flickr account, Lee Grace describes herself as being "28 but act like I'm 17 most of the time. I love to farm and shoot guys and wreck cars. I'm a redneck and proud of it. I like milk and German engineering and causing mayhem with my siblings."
Brendon Bookman, Lee Grace’s finace, told WTSP in Tampa Bay that he doesn’t think the trio will make it home alive.
"I would prefer to see her living than not living, but it's very difficult for me to imagine the three of them wanting to live the rest of their life in a cage.”
"It sure seems like they have a death wish," Valdosta Police Cmdr. Brian Childress told The Associated Press on Monday. "We're just hoping they surrender, and they do it peacefully so no one gets hurt."
Their mother, Barbara Bell of East Palatka, told AP that she hoped the three would surrender.
"The only safe thing, the only right thing, the only good thing to do is turn yourselves in."
She also spoke to her children through WFTS-TV:
"Only Mom knows what good people you are inside, please prove me right . . .You've made some bad mistakes, but so far, no one has been physically harmed.”
"I love you.”
Bell has received one text from her kids since they have been on the run, according to authorities. The text allegedly reads, “There’s a time for all of us to die.”
At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday the Colorado Springs Police Department received a report that three people matching the gang’s description were seen in the area of Woodman and I-25.
It has not been confirmed yet if the sighting was the Dougherty gang.
Officials with the FBI's Denver office told ABC News they believe the sighting is credible.
"This appears to be the real deal," FBI spokesman Dave Joly said.
Police have asked residents of the Woodmen area to be on the lookout and "to exercise extreme caution" if they see the suspects. The three are believed to be armed and dangerous.
