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Suspect butt-dials 911 while planning to rob restaurant full of police

Posted at 7:55 PM, Dec 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-14 07:52:44-05

It’s hard to imagine a robbery going any worse than the one nearly attempted by Robert Bourne and David Grigsby on Saturday evening in Danville, Kentucky. Not only were the men planning on committing the crime within a stone’s throw of the town’s police chief, but one of them mistakenly butt-dialed 911.

According to the Danville Advocate-Messenger, Bourne and Grigsby had a few beers at a local restaurant and then went to a car in the parking lot to plan a robbery. That’s when one of the suspects accidentally put his phone into emergency mode and mistakenly called 911.

The suspects were also unaware that Danville Police Chief Tony Gray was eating dinner at the same restaurant — even though they mentioned Gray by name during their conversation.

After the 911 dispatcher triangulated the call, a second police officer stopped by the restaurant, thinking Gray had butt-dialed the emergency number during while talking with a friend. After a quick conversation, they realized a robbery attempt was imminent.

They then made their way to the parking lot, where they found Bourne and Grigsby still plotting their robbery. Police searched the suspects and found one of them had a mask.

Both suspects were arrested and charged with public intoxication, while Grigsby was also charged with possession of an open alcohol container in a vehicle and disorderly conduct. Both were released without bail.

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.