Fugitive Kansas City Chiefs Superfan Arrested in California, Linked to Stealing Over $800,000
His cell phone location data linked him to multiple crimes.
According to the latest FBI statistics, bank robberies are more common than you would expect. During the last reporting year, 2021, there were a total of 1,724 bank-related robberies in the United States alone. Unfortunately for bank robbers, the majority – around 70 percent – are eventually caught either via law enforcement or tips. While the odds of getting away with the crime are low, it doesn't stop people from trying. This week a man was arrested in California linked to a number of bank robberies and thefts – and he happened to be a known Kansas City Chiefs superfan.
Federal authorities arrested Xaviar Babudar, 29, near Sacramento on Friday, charging him with bank theft and transporting stolen property across state lines for a previously unsolved March 2022 robbery in Iowa in addition to a string of other robberies.
According to the FBI, Babudar is linked to six other unsolved robberies and attempted robberies of banks or credit unions from April 2022 through December in Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee and Nebraska. They claim he stole more than $800,000.
He will go in front of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento and face a federal grand jury. Per the affidavit, the two federal charges each carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
How did Babudar get linked to the additional crimes? According to the court filings, his cellphone was in the same location at the time of the crimes. One of his alleged schemes was purchasing and redeemed more than $1 million in chips from various casinos in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois from April to December 2022.
Babudar had a major presence on social media, dubbed a "Chiefsaholic," a die-hard fan who dressed in a gray wolf suit for games and often was shown on TV. He was first arrested in December in Oklahoma and charged with a robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Credit Union. After pleading not guilty he was released on bond in February. However, he removed his ankle monitor and disappeared in March.
An alleged victim, Payton Garcia spoke through her attorney Frank Frasier that she is "ecstatic with the news that he has been caught," adding, "She's breathing a sigh of relief."
"I am thankful for the hard work of the FBI in finding and arresting Xaviar Babudar," Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said on Monday. "As Tulsa County was the first jurisdiction to arrest and charge Babudar in December 2022, it is the goal of my office to prosecute him in Tulsa County District Court prior to a federal case. As a fugitive from justice from our jurisdiction after his bond was reduced over our objection, Babudar posed an extreme risk to the public. I am grateful that no other citizen or law enforcement officer was subjected to the violence he demonstrated in Tulsa County, Oklahoma."
