Chris Stratton

"I'm not going anywhere till you tell me the plan."

Chris Stratton, a.k.a. "The King of Hearts", was a bank robber, killer, and member of The Face Cards. He appeared in Season Seven of Criminal Minds.

Background
Born on June 1, 1978, in Philadelphia, Chris was a petty criminal who targeted liquor stores, gas stations, and convenience stores in New Jersey. His lifelong partner was his brother Oliver, who then continued to be so when Chris started escalating to robbing banks. However, the two weren't skilled at the job and were caught after they attempted a heist, consequently being sentenced to two years in prison. After being released early, two months prior to their first crimes as the Face Cards, he and Oliver met Izzy Rogers, a bank robber active in several countries and a former assassin, who perfected their robbing techniques and reshaped them into efficient criminals. The two became her accomplices and began robbing U.S. banks as the Face Cards, although both Chris and Oliver were unaware that Izzy had another partner, named Matthew Downs, who operated behind-the-scenes.

Hit
Arriving in D.C., Chris enters the Colonial Liberty Bank with Izzy and Oliver. He and Oliver accidentally trigger the metal detector with their guns, to which Izzy pulls out Chris's gun and uses it to kill the investigating security guard. The trio then put on their masks and proceed to rob the bank. Chris begins taunting a female bank teller named Ling before forcing her to empty out the bank's vault. When Oliver spots a police cruiser arriving, he flees with him through a side door, only to be confronted by William LaMontagne, Jr. and his partner Jodi Ketelson. Oliver kills Jodi but is shot and injured by Will, forcing Chris to drag his brother back inside the bank, where he and Izzy hold everyone hostage. Chris later receives a call with Rossi, who offers a deal to send in a medic for Oliver in exchange for the women and children. This forces Izzy to shoot a hostage to prove that the Face Cards don't play games. While waiting for a medic to arrive, Chris begins arguing with Izzy, and Chris contemplates on having Izzy killing another hostage to "make them listen". Just then, Rossi calls him again and tells him he knows his and Oliver's names. Finally, a medic, Travis Green, is sent in, but Oliver succumbs to his wounds before Green can take action. Green suddenly pulls out a gun, actually being an FBI agent, but Chris angrily shoots him dead.

On Izzy's request, Chris tells Rossi to send an armored truck and a plane (with no pilots) set for Switzerland, to which Izzy changes the location to Chad before he hangs up. Rossi later calls him again and tells him of the discovery of Izzy's real partner, and Chris asks Izzy about it. Izzy replies that should he turn against her, Oliver's death would mean nothing, convincing Chris to cut off all negotiations, save one: to talk to Will, the officer who fatally shot Oliver. The deal is turned down, which forces Chris to shoot and kill Shawn Harper, then threatening to shoot more hostages until Will walks in. Will accepts the offer and walks inside, where he finds Chris, who asks for his name. When Will states his name, Chris shoots him down. However, Will is only injured by the shots, having worn a bulletproof vest, and he confronts him about Izzy setting him up. Unconvinced, Chris takes him to the gas mains, where Izzy had gone to, and find her setting a bomb there. Chris asks what she is doing, to which Izzy simply replies, "You'll find out soon." The two then flee with Will in tow, seconds before the bomb detonates, causing a large explosion.

Run
Chris somehow gets separated from Izzy and Will, but then reunites with them at a police-owned SUV that Izzy was able to gain access to. After Chris accuses Izzy of setting up the hostage situation and getting Oliver killed (even briefly threatening her at gunpoint), the two then decide to use Will as leverage before driving over to a hospital. There, they force a medic at gunpoint to mend Will's gunshot wounds, then Izzy kills him. The three then get back onto the road, where Izzy receives a call from Matthew. When Chris pulls over and asks what her real plan is, Izzy instantly shoots him three times in the stomach, then dumps him on the street and has Will drive away as he continuously spits out blood.

He isn't seen for the rest of the episode, but judging by his condition the last time he was seen, as well as the fact that he wasn't given a status update in the following season, it is extremely likely he bled out and died.

Modus Operandi
During the Face Card robberies, Chris wore a mask based on a King of Hearts card. At first, when he killed, he usually shot most of his victims execution-style with a 9mm Sig Sauer P226R handgun, quickly killing them, but as he inadvertently took Izzy's advice, he started aiming for non-fatal places to allow his victims to bleed out and slowly die. When he killed Shawn Harper and attempted to kill Annie Beneville and Matthew Downs, Chris forced them to get on a phone with Rossi on the line, tell him their names, and then execute them.

Profile
In contrast to his psychopathic, sadistic, remorseless partner Izzy, Chris showed concern for the wounded Oliver, suggesting that he had some sort of personal connection to him, later revealed to be blood-relation. The fact that Izzy was the only one to murder the Face Cards' victims gave leverage to the Colonial Liberty Bank standoff; Chris could be more easily negotiated with. However, that would change once he shot and killed the undercover paramedic in revenge for his brother's death. He was unaware of Izzy's other partner Matthew, which could lead to more animosity between the two.

Known Victims

 * July 15, 2009-July 12, 2011, unspecified locations in New Jersey: At least five victimless robberies committed with Oliver
 * 2011:
 * November, unspecified location: A victimless Face Card bank robbery
 * December, unspecified location: A victimless Face Card bank robbery
 * 2012:
 * January, unspecified location: A victimless Face Card bank robbery
 * February, unspecified location: A victimless Face Card bank robbery
 * March, unspecified location: A victimless Face Card bank robbery
 * April, unspecified location: A victimless Face Card bank robbery
 * May 16, Washington, D.C.:
 * The Colonial Liberty Bank robbery and subsequent hostage situation:
 * Annie Beneville
 * Agent Travis Green
 * Shawn Harper
 * Matthew Downs
 * William LaMontagne, Jr.
 * Izzy Rogers
 * Unnamed medic

Appearances

 * Season Seven
 * Hit
 * Run