Federal Prosecutors Indict Third Miami Man In Highway Gold Bar Heist
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Federal prosecutors have indicted the third person involved in the heist of $4.8 million in gold bars from a truck along I-95 traveling from Miami to Boston.
According to the FBI, Pedro Santamaria was a gunman during the robbery in which he allegedly bound and dragged victims into the woods in Wilson County, North Carolina on March 1, 2015.
Santamaria was given up by another convicted robber in the gold bar caper and by a convicted accomplice who tried to fence one of the 10 stolen gold bars in Miami after the heist.
US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ariana Fajardo Orshan announced Santamaria's indictment Thursday.
He's charged with conspiring to commit a Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during a violent crime.
The indictment alleges that Santamaria conspired to commit these crimes with Adalberto Perez and Roberto Cabrera, both of whom previously pled guilty for their involvement in the robbery.
According to the court records, including the indictment, Santamaria, Perez and Cabrera caused noxious fumes to fill the cabin of the TransValue, Inc. truck that was transporting gold bars to Massachusetts. At gunpoint, two robbers removed and bound the TransValue employees. The robbers then transferred the gold bars to their vehicle and fled.
FBI agents are still trying to track down Santamaria.
The FBI said previously he should be considered armed and dangerous.
He is known to have ties to California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
He is 5'7", 180 pounds, brown eyes, black hair, Hispanic, and he has a scar on his left forearm.
