As the Kansas City Chiefs’ important hype man, Xavier Babudar, recognized by followers as ChiefsAholic, attended practically each sport, at residence and away. Given the hefty worth of soccer tickets, it was a high-flying life-style, which Mr. Babudar attributed to profitable warehouses he managed throughout the Midwest.
But the cash that funded Mr. Babudar’s travels, federal prosecutors say, seems to have come, partly, from a extra illicit supply. Mr. Babudar is accused of committing a string of financial institution robberies throughout at the very least six states over the past yr, together with in Iowa, the place he’s accused of stealing $70,000.
Mr. Babudar, 29, was arrested close to Sacramento, Calif., on Friday, the place federal brokers charged him with one depend of financial institution theft and one depend of transporting stolen property throughout state strains, the United States Attorney’s Office within the Western District of Missouri stated in a press release. It got here 4 months after he fled prosecution in Oklahoma in connection to a distinct financial institution theft.
That theft is considered one of seven Mr. Babudar was accused of committing or making an attempt between April 2022 and December 2022, in keeping with courtroom paperwork unsealed on Monday. Prosectors stated Mr. Babudar had bought and redeemed greater than $1 million value of chips from casinos throughout the Midwest that gave the impression to be linked to the stolen cash. A grand jury will decide whether or not Mr. Babudar can be indicted on the extra prices, the assertion added.
Federal prosecutors in Missouri declined to touch upon Mr. Babudar’s case.
In December, Mr. Babudar was accused of robbing a credit score union in Tulsa, Okla., utilizing a pistol he aimed toward a teller’s face. He was launched in February after the bail bondsman, who was additionally a Kansas City Chiefs fan, agreed to submit Mr. Babudar’s $80,000 bail. A month later, the police stated he severed his ankle monitor and disappeared.
Tracy Tiernan, Mr. Babudar’s lawyer in Oklahoma, stated he had not been involved with Mr. Babudar since.
“I still have had no communication whatsoever with him other than the two or three texts asking him where he is and pleading him to come back,” Mr. Tiernan stated.
Four months after his escape, federal brokers discovered and arrested Mr. Babudar in California. He appeared on Tuesday afternoon within the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the place a decide ordered that he stay in custody with out bail till he might be transferred again to Missouri. The date for the courtroom listening to has not been set, in keeping with a spokesman for the U.S. District Court in Missouri.
The Tulsa County district legal professional, Steve Kunzweiler, thanked federal brokers for locating and arresting Mr. Babudar and stated he nonetheless deliberate to pursue prosecution in Oklahoma. After Mr. Babudar escaped from a Tulsa jail, a decide had issued an arrest warrant and a brand new bond, this time set at $1 million.
“Tulsa County was the first jurisdiction to arrest and charge Babudar in December 2022,” Mr. Kunzweiler stated. “My office will work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri to determine the next steps in holding him accountable,” he added.
For years, Mr. Babudar, recognized for his exuberant persona and signature wolf costume, was a fixture at Kansas City Chiefs video games. He was featured usually on N.F.L. broadcasts and had tens of hundreds of followers on Twitter underneath his deal with @ChiefsAholic. (The account is now run by a distinct person.)
But his look in a Tulsa jail in December, and his occurring the lam, punctured his picture as an enterprising, affable soccer fan. A brand new narrative offered by regulation enforcement and prosecutors portrayed a rootless man residing in his automobile with a file of petty crimes like shoplifting.
“He had a bad hand dealt to him in life,” Mr. Tiernan stated, referring to Mr. Babudar. “He had no guidance from his father, and he struggled with homelessness. It was a terrifically difficult climate for a teenager to endure.”
Source: www.nytimes.com