Lawrence Robert Lawton (born October 3, 1961) is an American ex-convict, author, paralegal, motivational speaker, and YouTuber. Lawton gained notoriety for committing a string of jewelry store robberies along the Atlantic Seaboard prior to his arrest in 1996. He spent 12 years in prison, and once released, began a career as a motivational speaker, life coach, and author.[3][4]
In 2007, he started the Reality Check Program to help educate at-risk youths on the consequences of breaking the law.[5][6] He has acted as a spokesman for prisoners and prisoner issues,[7] been a vocal advocate for prison reform, and made appearances in the media as an expert on robberies.[8]
In May 1994, three males robbed a jewelry store in Daytona Beach, Florida, netting $500,000 (over $1,000,000 in 2024)[15] worth of gold and diamonds.[16] The robbers had dropped off jewelry for repairs, and later returned to rob the store.[17] Then in October 1994, four individuals robbed a jewelry store in Palm Bay, Florida. The two store owners were bound while two individuals robbed the store and a third acted as a lookout and the other as the getaway driver.[16] The robbers took $480,000 ($910,600.81 in 2022)[18] worth of gold and diamonds making it the biggest robbery in the city's history.[16][19] Local police believed there was a connection between this robbery and a robbery that took place in May 1994 in Daytona Beach, and contacted the FBI.[16][19]
In 1996, there was a robbery of a jeweler in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. The robbers had been there the day before and returned asking about a ring. The robbers drew what police at the time believed were firearms, and restrained the store owner. The store owner managed to break free and grabbed a .38 caliber pistol and fired five shots at the robbers as they fled.[20][21] One bullet narrowly missed Lawton, but struck his brother.[10] Lawton later said that he used a BB gun during the robbery.[12] Afterwards, another jewelry store in Lower Bucks County became suspicious of a person they believed was casing the place for a future robbery. They reported the car's license plate, which linked the car to Lawton.[22] Lawton was arrested by the FBI on December 2, 1996, in Florida and charged with the Fairless Hills armed robbery.[23] Fingerprint evidence connected Lawton to the October 1994 Palm Bay heist, and he was charged with that crime as well.[19]
Lawton is believed to have hit around 20 to 25 jewelry stores,[13] stealing a self-estimated total of around $15–18 million worth of high-value items, including watches, diamonds, and other gems.[24][25] Lawton later claimed that he was the biggest jewel thief of the 1980s and 90s operating within the United States of America.[5]
Imprisonment
Lawton was offered a three-year sentence in exchange for disclosing his accomplices but did not take the deal.[12] He was sentenced for racketeering and robbery and spent 11 years in prison before being released in 2007.[26] He received an additional sentence in 2002 for giving false witness.[12] While in prison, Lawton earned a paralegal qualification and became a gang mediator.[27] He was incarcerated in many prisons during his sentence, which included Jesup in Georgia, Riker's Island in New York, Edgefield in South Carolina, and Yazoo City in Mississippi.[12][27] While recounting his prison experiences he said: "I saw inmates stabbed and friends die" and "I saw young men raped and pimped out as prostitutes for other inmates."[28] Another time he said: "I had my arms pinned down, and I was beaten and peed on — by the guards. I was kicked. My ribs were broken. I was beaten once a month."[12]
While in prison in 2003, Lawton was sent to solitary confinement for 27 days as punishment. Lawton filed a lawsuit against the prison and staff alleging that they violated his rights. The suit was later dismissed.[28] Lawton says he regrets his time spent in prison, because he missed out on seeing his children grow up; his grandmother died, and his father became afflicted with Alzheimer's disease while he was inside.[29]
Post-release
Reality Check program
After release he went to Palm Bay, Florida and started LL Research and Consulting and met a business partner.[12] He also founded the Reality Check program which aims to show teens the consequences of a criminal life.[30][31] The program is four hours long.[27] Lawton does not hold a degree in child psychology or criminology.[12] High school students can use the time spent in the program towards the 75 hours of community service required for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.[26]
Law enforcement officials and judges have supported the program.[32] In 2009, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office spent $4500 on 500 DVDs from the Reality Check program.[33] The DVDs contained condensed versions of Lawton's program and were 67 minutes long. In 2009 the Rockledge Florida police used the DVDs as part of a community policing project with the money to buy the DVDs procured through asset forfeiture.[34] By 2010, Lawton had shipped 10,000 DVDs across the country.[29] In 2013, Lawton was made an honorary police officer by the Lake St. Louis, Missouri Police Department due to his work after prison.[32][35] He was the first ex-con to ever become an honorary police officer.[32] The Lake St. Louis police chief praised Larry's message about the consequences of going to prison and said it is not a scared straight program, noting that Lawton said "fear doesn't have a lasting impact."[35] Lawton and the police chief later appeared before United States Congress in recognition of the program.[24][36]
The superintendent of student services at Brevard Public Schools declined to use the program and questioned its effectiveness: "[w]hile the program is well-organized and well-intentioned, it does not follow the scientific evidence-based research guidelines".[12]
Lawton also founded the Reality Check Foundation, which is a 501(C)(3) charity that includes a mentoring program, and an annual golf outing.[37][38] It also hosts an annual bowling tournament.[39]
Other
Lawton is an advocate for prisoners and their rights, and comments on the justice system.[40][7][11] In 2013, the Brevard County Jail re-introduced chain gangs as a pilot project with the goal of deterring crime. Lawton was critical of the move, saying that "[c]hain gangs send a bad message about [the US]." Instead he proposed a better use of law enforcement resources would be to "help inmates with drug addiction."[4] He was critical of Brevard County stopping letters to inmates in 2013. He said that some of the recipients could be innocent.[41] Other issues he is concerned with include prison conditions as well as post-release debt loads and their influence on unemployed ex-convicts.[42] Lawton has also shown concern over the prevalence of fentanyl-laced heroin, noting that in the past dealers had tried to sell pure heroin without any additives.[43]
Lawton, Larry; Golenbock, Peter (2012). Gangster Redemption: How America's Most Notorious Jewel Robber Got Rich, Got Caught, and Got His Life Back on Track. New York: LL Research & Consulting. ISBN978-0985408206.
^Seper, Chris (December 10, 1996). "Jeweler helps police nab suspect in Fla". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
^"Robbery suspect arrested in Fla". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 10, 1996. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
