SAN ANTONIO – Multiple robbers hijacked an armored truck and stole a “substantial” amount of money in Converse on Thursday morning — at least the third armored truck robbery in the area in just over four months.
Converse police Lt. Jeff Shook said the incident started after a Garda security truck pulled up to an AutoZone in the 8500 block of FM 78 at 8:50 a.m. to conduct business.
One of the security officers went inside the store, and the driver stayed inside the truck, police said. That’s when the thieves got into the truck and forced the driver to drive off.
Police believe there were up to four robbers, all armed. They had the driver stop at the edge of a neighborhood less than a mile away, at Crestway Road and Walnut Basin, where police believe the robbers had a getaway car.
“We do know that there was a substantial amount of United States currency stolen in the robbery. We do know that there are multiple suspects involved,” Shook said.
Neither of the guards was shot, but police said the thieves hit the driver with a gun. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
This marks at least the third armored truck robbery along FM 78 in just over four months. The other two happened at a Chase Bank in the 6500 block on the San Antonio side, first in August and again on Dec. 15.
On Aug. 25, shortly before 9:30 a.m., two men robbed a Brinks driver at gunpoint while he was making a cash drop at the bank, according to arrest documents for one of the suspects. The two men made off with $292,000 in two bags of cash from the back of the truck, driving off in a stolen car before changing to another parked in a nearby neighborhood.
San Antonio Police arrested Lawrence Eric Taylor for aggravated robbery on Sep. 15. Taylor, who was 21 at the time, was released on bond a few days later.
On Dec. 15, three men “accosted” and robbed the driver of a Brinks truck in the drive-thru of the same Chase bank. The driver was assaulted and, at some point, one of the suspects opened fire, police said. No one was hit by a bullet in the shooting.
Shook said it’s too early to tell if the three incidents are related.
“Until I get some details on the other jurisdictions, investigations that they have going on, I think it would be premature to conclude that. Although, we do believe that the way this one was facilitated, if you would, it is quite similar,” he said.
Police said they are looking at surveillance footage.
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