A jury convicted an accused bathroom robber in just 15 minutes Wednesday after the victim identified his khaki pants - both halves - and said the defendant ripped away the half holding his wallet. Oscar Reynolds, 29, faces six to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced next month by Criminal Court Judge Joseph Dailey.
The incident occurred on Feb. 25, 2000 in a restroom in the 2600 Thousand Oaks office building in East Memphis.
"One of the times we are most vulnerable as victims of crimes is in a toilet stall with pants down," state prosecutor Steve Jones told the jury. "That is when the defendant chose to make John Brady a victim."
Brady, 55, is a New Jersey resident who was in Memphis for his tax and accounting company working on a project for FedEx.
"I was sitting in a stall and someone came underneath the door and told me he wanted my wallet," Brady told jurors Wednesday. "He stuck his head in and said give me your wallet you white-haired (expletive) and I told him no."
He said the man then slid back out, banged twice on the stall and then reappeared under the door.
"He grabbed my ankles and started to pull me out of the stall into the main area of the men's room," Brady continued. "I was making a lot of noise. I was yelling for help. I was both scared and angry. My left pant leg came off (in the struggle) and I think he realized by its weight that what came with that was my wallet."
Brady said that as Reynolds ran off, he went to the bathroom door and shouted that he had been robbed and for someone to stop the robber. Security officers in the parking lot stopped Reynolds and held him for police.
With the left leg of his pants missing, Brady said he went back into the restroom but only for a moment. "I was too angry to be embarrassed," he said.
The half-clothed Brady went outside where he identified Reynolds, who later told police he committed the robbery to buy crack cocaine. Reynolds has prior convictions of aggravated robbery, theft and drug trafficking.
Also in the parking lot was Brady's wallet with his driver's license, credit cards and other identification scattered around it. He said he kept his money in his right front pants pocket, the side he was still wearing.
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