Former Brinks Employee Sentenced for Robbing Brinks Truck

Carlos Rodriguez, a former driver for the Brinks Armored Car Company, was sentenced to 140 months - 11 years and 8 months - in federal prison for the role he played in the armed robbery of a Brinks armored car that took place in Sunnyvale, California.

He was convicted by a jury of all three counts in his indictment: Hobbs Act Conspiracy. The Hobbs Act involves extortion by the wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear. Obstructing Commerce by robbery. And aiding and abetting in the brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence. The brandishing charge alone carried a minimum sentence of seven years to be served consecutively to the other convictions. He will also have to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay $ 134,000 in restitution. The defendant will have to serve the whole term of his sentence since there is no parole in the Federal prison system. The only chance to get our early is by getting time off for good behavior.

The evidence produced at trial showed that the defendant was employed as a driver for Brinks Armored Car Services and that he did enter into a conspiracy with another person to stage a fake robbery of the truck he drove.

The other Brings employee who was in the truck with Rodriguez was not involved in the robbery. When they arrived at a bank where they were to make a cash delivery, the co conspirator was waiting in a car nearby and he ran at the other employee, pointed a gun at him and grabbed a bag that contained in the neighborhood of $134,000.