Roofman (2025) is based on the remarkable true story of Jeffrey Manchester, a former U.S. Army Reserve soldier turned criminal. Operating in the late 1990s, Manchester earned the nickname "Roofman" by breaking into over 60 McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes through their roofs to rob them. His approach was distinctive: entering the establishment at night, hiding until morning in the restrooms, then emerging with a gun and herding employees into the walk-in freezers and calmly collecting cash without harming anyone.
Manchester was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to a 45-year prison term. Four years later he escaped prison by hiding in the undercarriage of a supply truck that came into the prison. Instead of fleeing far, Manchester chose to conceal himself for six months inside a Toys "R" Us in Charlotte, North Caroline — surviving on snacks and baby food, riding an exercise bike, and living under the alias "John Zorn."
He would hide behind the bike racks during store hours and come out at night to explore the store, using a baby monitor to keep an eye on the store. He even moved into a makeshift hideout in a nearby Circuit City at times. Additionally, he robbed the Toys "R" Us he was staying in, making it his biggest robbery to date. Manchester then took the goods he robbed and gave the toys to children.
During his elaborate ruse, Manchester formed a relationship with a single mother who worked at the Toys "R" Us, creating a double life of love and deception. His double life and escape unraveled when fingerprints on a DVD and suspicious behavior led to his recapture in January 2005, with the woman he formed a relationship helping the police with his recapture.
Manchester is currently serving his sentence at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina. He attempted more prison escapes in 2009 and 2017. Currently 54 years old, his expected release date is December 4, 2036. ~Erin Grace