The Face Cards

CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION
Name	The Face Cards
Type	Bank Robbers Cop Killers
Country of Origin	U.S.
Area of Operation	U.S.
Affiliation	Themselves
Leader	Izzy Rogers (presumably)
Modus Operandi	Shooting C4 and SEMTEX bombs
No. of Mutual Victims	64+ killed 4+ attempted 8 hostages
Appx no. of Members	4 (3 deceased, 1 incarcerated)
First Appearance	"Hit"
Last Appearance	"Run"

The Face Cards were a group of bank robbers and cop killers, all led by Izzy Rogers. They appeared in the two-part Season Seven finale of Criminal Minds.

History

See Izzy Rogers, Matthew Downs, Chris Stratton, and Oliver Stratton's pages.

Members

• Izzy Rogers (the Queen of Diamonds; incarcerated). Portrayed by Tricia Helfer.
• Matthew Downs (Izzy's real partner and Wildcard; deceased). Portrayed by Josh Randall.
• Chris Stratton (the King of Hearts; deceased). Portrayed by Evan Jones.
• Oliver Stratton (the Jack of Clubs; deceased). Portrayed by Seth Laird.

Modus Operandi

The Face Cards, comprising of Izzy, Chris, and Oliver, initially targeted small branches of banks, located in rural communities, and they always timed their robberies by two minutes. Wearing masks based on the Queen, King, and Jack cards and utilizing handguns, they would hold everyone inside at gunpoint. Chris and Oliver would grab the money while Izzy searched for a suitable exit. After they were done robbing the bank, Izzy would end the robbery with the murder of a random hostage before the three make their leave in a getaway car. Matthew would always watch the robberies through security cameras he hacked into and also personally, in which he pretended to be a hostage. Furthermore, he would always disable the security cameras of the banks long enough for Izzy, Chris, and Oliver to put their masks on after they entered the bank so the police wouldn't be able to get a clear picture of them. During the Colonial Liberty Bank robbery, Izzy and Chris resorted to executing hostages to ensure their demands were met.

Profile

The nature of the bank heists and the attack at the Colonial Liberty Bank indicate that the unsubs are homicidal anarchists independent of any terrorist cells, as well as serial killers. They want to be admired, and by allowing the Colonial Liberty Bank's security cameras to record the entire siege, they are also bragging about how much fear they were creating. Gaining knowledge of the unsubs' behaviors and the minutes leading up to the final bombing is crucial in order to find the unsubs themselves.

Real-Life Comparison

Rogers and Downs appear to have been inspired by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow - Both are outlaw and spree killer couples and cop killers who formed a violent bank robbery crew, the male members suffered previous trauma that motivated their violence (Downs had PTSD from military service, Barrow was raped in prison and killed the rapist), and at least one of them died once cornered by police.

The Face Cards appear to be partly inspired by The Stopwatch Gang - Both groups are trios of bank robbers that were formed by a leader with a skill of staying anonymous while their accomplices did most of the work, the leaders recruited two accomplices with previous records of petty crime, served less of the times they were sentenced (though while the Stratton brothers were released early, the Stopwatch Gang escaped from prison), had an inside man for at least one of their largest heists, timed their robberies for two minutes each, planned their entries and escape routes, listened to police transmitters to catch onto their activities and stay one step ahead of them for their plans, were remembered for their distinctive masks that gave them nicknames, and had leaders turn on the accomplices (the Stopwatch Gang was turned on by their inside man in their first heist who convinced them to pull off the robbery, Rogers and Downs set up the Stratton brothers to get shot by police).

Mutual Victims

• May 16, 2008, N'Djamena, Chad: Thirty unnamed people (all killed by Izzy and Matthew in a string of bombings)
• 2011:
  • November, unspecified location, U.S.: An unnamed victim (killed by Izzy in a Face Card heist)
  • December, unspecified location, U.S.: An unnamed victim (killed by Izzy in a Face Card heist)
• 2012:
  • January, unspecified location, U.S.: An unnamed victim (killed by Izzy in a Face Card Heist)
  • February, unspecified location, U.S.: An unnamed victim (killed by Izzy in a Face Card Heist)
  • March, unspecified location, U.S.: An unnamed victim (killed by Izzy in a Face Card heist)
  • April, unspecified location, U.S.: An unnamed victim (killed by Izzy in a Face Card heist)
  • May 16, Washington, D.C., U.S.:
    • The Colonial Liberty Bank robbery and subsequent hostage situation:
      • Unnamed security guard (shot in the stomach by Izzy)
      • Detective Jodi Ketelson (William's partner; shot in the head by Oliver)
      • At least 29 customers and bank tellers taken hostage. They are:
        • Lynne Nolan (teller; she escaped)
        • Zack Hansen (customer; later shot in the stomach by Izzy)
        • Reese Hansen (Zack Hansen's daughter; was later released)
        • Shawn Harper (teller; later shot in the face by Chris)
        • Hannah Wakefield and her unnamed baby (customers; both were later released)
        • Annie Beneville (teller; Chris intended to shoot her execution-style, but changed his mind; was later killed in the gas mains explosion)
        • Four unnamed others (all of them escaped)
        • At least eighteen unnamed others (all killed in the gas mains explosion)
      • Agent Travis Green (shot twice in the stomach and head by Chris)
      • William LaMontagne, Jr. (non-fatally shot twice by Chris; later abducted and strapped to a bomb in Union Station; was rescued)
    • The gas mains bomb set by Izzy:
      • Jennifer Jareau (attempted; nearly caught up in the explosion along with the four below)
      • Derek Morgan
      • Emily Prentiss
      • Several unnamed SWAT agents
      • Numerous unnamed policemen
      • Ray and Shirley Hamilton (both severely wounded by the explosion; it is unknown if they survived in the end)
    • Unnamed medic (forced at gunpoint to mend Will's wounds, then shot by Izzy)
    • The attempted Union Station bombing committed by Matthew:
      • Numerous unnamed people (attempted to kill with the bomb strapped to Will by Matthew; Prentiss defused it)
      • Emily Prentiss (indirectly attempted)

Appearances

• Season Seven
  • "Hit"
  • "Run"
• Season Eight
  • "The Silencer" (indirectly referenced)
  • "Carbon Copy" (indirectly referenced)