Time Running Out For $25K Reward In Brinks Guard Robbery
SUNRISE (CBSMiami) – Time is running out to claim a big reward in one of the most violent and brazen crimes that South Florida has seen in the past few months.
Two weeks ago armed thieves held up a Brinks guard in the parking lot of the Space Coast Credit Union. They stole money the guard was attempting to deliver to the bank but they couldn't steal his gun.
As the masked men fled, a surveillance camera from an ATM shows the Brinks guard opening fire on the men and shooting round after round after round.
FBI Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger has studied the images. She is a member of the FBI's South Florida Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force and she says it is a shocking crime.
"It's extremely brazen," she told CBS 4's Carey Codd in a sit down interview. "They order him to the ground. They try to get his gun. It must have been very terrifying for him."
Schwartzenberger says the result of all those gunshots might be a critical clue in solving this case and for the first time she revealed where one of the robbers was likely struck by a bullet.
"We believe one of the subjects was wounded in the left leg or arm/hand area," she said.
Investigators say they found blood in the car and studied the trajectory of the bullets the Brinks guard fired to determine where the robber was shot. Schwartzenberger hopes someone who knows the armed robbers or knows someone with that type of wound will turn them in.
As an enticement, investigators hope a $25-thousand dollar reward from Brinks will convince someone to provide information.
Another important detail in the case -- investigators believe the men dumped the getaway car -- a white Honda -- in a nearby parking lot before hopping in a silver car with a spoiler on the back and a small dent in the trunk near the keyhole. That car is possibly a Lexus.
South Florida has seen its' share of armored truck robberies. The FBI says that just a few years ago there were 27 robberies of armored cars in the area. But the FBI says they are making significant progress in reducing the number of those crimes. Last year the FBI says they didn't have any armored car heists in South Florida.
Investigators want to solve this latest case to take at least two dangerous criminals off the streets.
"They are very violent crimes," Schwartzenberger said. "Very shocking to the community so we try to work very hard to investigate these crimes and solve them as quickly as possible."
If you have information to solve the case, you need to speak up quickly. The reward of 25-thousand dollars expires at midnight on Sunday. Contact the FBI at (305) 944-9101, the Sunrise Police Department or Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS with information that leads to an arrest.
