On September 12, 1997, six men robbed the Dunbar Armored facility on Mateo St. in Downtown Los Angeles, California of US$18.9million (equivalent to $ million in ). The robbery was orchestrated by Allen Pace III, of Compton, with childhood friends Erik Damon Boyd, of Buena Park, Eugene Lamar Hill Jr., of Bellflower, Freddie Lynn McCrary Jr., of Arleta, Terry Wayne Brown Sr., of Los Angeles, and Thomas Lee Johnson, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
While the group left almost no evidence, Hill was implicated two years later when he accidentally gave a real estate broker a stack of banknotes that were still secured in their original currency straps; the broker contacted the police. Hill confessed, implicating the five other robbers, and three other men who had assisted in laundering the money. Pace was sentenced to 24years in prison in 2001; Boyd was sentenced to 17years, and the other four robbers received sentences ranging from 8to 10years. Two of the men who assisted in money laundering were sentenced to 2.5years.
Robbery
The robbery was masterminded by Allen Pace III, who worked for Dunbar as a regional safety inspector. While on the job, Pace had time to photograph and examine the company's Los Angeles armored car depot. He recruited five of his childhood friends, providing them with detailed floor plans and camera locations, ski masks, pistols, a shotgun, and radio headsets. Pace also created his own front companies to launder more money and enlisted another man's help to buy property, so they would not be listed under Pace's name. Boyd, through his father's company, laundered $177,000. The four others, pleading guilty, received sentences between 8and 10years. Matsumoto was also implicated, resigning from the State Bar. He and Bin were indicted on 71counts related to money laundering and sentenced to 2.5years.
See also
- List of bank robbers and robberies