A former armored truck driver for Garda has been accused of stealing $1.1 million in Converse.
Brian Martinez Rodriguez, 23, was charged Thursday with theft over $300,000.
The theft happened a day before Martinez Rodriguez was set to lose his job with Garda because he had not gotten his license to carry a firearm.
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At around 8:30 a.m. Dec. 29, Martinez and a coworker pulled up to an AutoZone in the 8500 block of FM 78 to pick up money. His coworker went inside the store, while Martinez Rodriguez stayed with the truck. While the coworker was inside the store, he said he heard the armored truck drive off. Martinez Rodriguez was gone with it.
Martinez Rodriguez told investigators he saw a man digging through the trash can outside the store. He got out of the truck and the man approached him, pulling a gun from his waistband. Martinez Rodriguez said the man forced him back into the truck, where he assaulted him with the gun. Then, Martinez Rodriguez said he drove over to Walnut Basin and Twincreek farm.
There, three men with guns filled two bins with the money and left, Martinez Rodriguez said. When he stood up, he said he saw a white car making a left turn into the neighborhood.
Surveillance footage told a different story, according to an arrest affidavit. The footage outside of AutoZone showed a man walking around the front of the truck as Martinez Rodriguez opened the side door. At one point, the man appeared to be putting on gloves. Martinez appeared to be stalling, states the affidavit.
“Martinez Rodriguez once again opened the side door and appeared to be signaling at the suspect,” the affidavit states. “The suspect appeared to walk right in and the door closed.”
At the second location, video shows the armored truck pulling up behind a parked light blue car. The trunk opened and someone in a black hoodie made two trips from the truck to the trunk of the vehicle.
Martinez Rodriguez’s phone had photos of the inside of the armored truck, the manifest and an email from Garda “to be vigilant of the recent armored truck robberies.” The photos begin Dec. 1, the same date Martinez Rodriguez received notice that he would be losing his job at the end of the month.
Martinez Rodriguez’s bail was set at $100,000.
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