Brazen daylight armored truck robbery at bank was an inside job, California cops say
Northern California police have arrested three people after a months-long investigation revealed that an armored truck heist over the summer was an inside job, according to authorities.
Two suspects armed with assault rifles demanded cash from a Loomis armored truck guard on June 27 just before 11 a.m. outside of Wells Fargo bank branch in Oakland, where the guard had been delivering cash, the Oakland Police Department said in a news release on Tuesday.
The robbers got away in an older red Honda Civic, police said.
Lt. Steven Nowak said in a statement that during a three-month investigation authorities “worked tirelessly with specialized units in identifying the responsible persons in this crime which resulted in key arrests, confessions and a cache of illegal firearms.”
Police said the department’s tactical team and other law enforcement agencies carried out several search warrants in the case, including operations in Oakland, San Leandro, Stockton and Antioch.
That resulted in the seizure of 11 guns and the arrests of 23-year-old Damien Jackson; his uncle, 35-year-old Duane Jackson; and 25-year-old Mercadiez Moore, according to police.
Authorities said the younger Jackson was driving the armored truck the day it was robbed, according to the East Bay Times, which reported that authorities also said Moore, his girlfriend, “aided the suspects afterward.”
The Times reports that “more than $100,000 in cash was stolen,” and while “some of the stolen money has been recovered, ... authorities have not said how much.”
Alameda County prosecutors have charged each of the Jacksons with second-degree robbery and other felony charges, while Moore faces charges of receiving stolen property and firearm storage, according to police.
“Authorities said some of the stolen money was used to buy vehicles and a motorcycle,” CBS SF reported.
Court records said Damien Jackson “has admitted his involvement,” according to CBS.
KGO reported in June that the incident “was the first armored vehicle robbery in Oakland since 2006, when a guard was killed and more than $1 million was stolen by the two suspects.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2019 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Brazen daylight armored truck robbery at bank was an inside job, California cops say."
