They Heard it Through the Grapevine: Brinks Jewelry Heist

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Zara, Elizabeth, it's you, It's me, Saron Brunette.

That's right, that's a.

Listen pal. You know it's ridiculous.

Yes, I do, Elizabeth. I'm glad you asked me. Cowboy hats.

Yeah, totally ridiculous on birds, super ridiculous.

So you got family in Las Vegas, I do.

Did they ever tell you about about a little time about five six years ago when people were seeing birds fly around Las Vegas with cowboy hats?

No, par did share this with me.

Apparently for a while in December of twenty nineteen, people were noticing these.

Quote the birds have hats on bro.

So somebody they recorded a twelve second video in a parking lot of these birds like pecking at Dorito's, like thrown into a parking lot, just on a normal like seven to eleven parking lot. Yeah, but the birds were wearing cowboy hats, tiny cowboy hats, little pigeons with tiny.

Proof.

There is it.

There is video proof, and the videos were shared and enjoy to buy millions.

Well otherwise it's just's yeah.

Now people were like, wait a minute, did he do this? And then somebody else. Someone else pointed out that the Wrangler National Finals rodeo was in town, and they're like, did they do this as like a hype thing for the rodeo. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association had to come out and say, we had nothing to do with the pigeons wearing cowboy hats.

Wait wait, since someone was just a vigilante, yes, as pigeon exactly.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police had to come out and say.

It does not appear to be a police matter at this time.

The Clark County spokeswoman, they said, I have no immediate comment.

I didn't know what to do right.

Some people were worried, so like a veterinarian came in and said, well, actually, they make a glues for animals, and I think that they may not be it's not obstructing their vision or their ability to eat, So I think that the birds will be fine. Okay, because apparently they make this like spargum for birds. I think they think that somebody just plopped that on the pigeon's head and propped it on there instead of using like super glue, and you.

Know, they got some of that like showgirls.

Yeah, so they they look like there. It was not that the animals were hurt, Elizabeth, I don't worrying. They were just upgraded fashion.

Man. There you go. That's ridiculous. Do you want to know what else is ridiculous?

Goodness?

Yeah, the grape Vine.

No, no, this is ridiculous Crime a podcast about absurd and outrageous capers. Heis and cons it's always ninety nine percent murder free and one hundred percent ridiculous.

You heard that, right? You?

All right? Do you pull something?

The interns? Hold me down.

There. You're a big road trip guy.

Oh my god. I lived for road trips. That's what I did for my birthday last year. I took a road trip by.

Myself, just drove across country.

That was my gift to myself. I drove across country all by myself.

It was awesome. Took me like five days.

It was love pretty cool.

It's one of my favorite things to do.

I get carsick easily. Oh that's not my favorite.

Oh that totally. Did it happen even if you're driving? That that helps.

Yeah, if I'm driving, it's not an issue. But I also just don't like to sit for such long perme time.

Twelve hours as long as the world's moving.

I love the concept of a road. Are parts that I enjoy like I like going places that I've never been. That's true, things that I may never see again.

This is true.

And the life I love is making music with my friends. So that's why you get on the road again, On the road again, but on the road again, Elizabeth, I am band the Gypsies. We go down the highway, making friends, best of friends, insisting in the world turning our way and our way on the aga. Okay, So I do love a good roadside stand or oh that's true.

You you will make us pull over if I'm ever in the car.

They got a lot of those on the old roots. Like strawberries you one o one from the bay to l A. Like strawberry stands, cherries and cherries, garlic.

You'll stop for avocado, artichokes.

Yeah, yeah, I'll bust it out for vegetables.

Will get a stop for you.

One time, one of the best discoveries I ever had was in an artichoke stand. I bought some seasoning called garlic Dude dust. If you can get your hands on it, I use it on everything anyway. I like stopping at nice rest stops.

That's true, like nice, what is nice?

Like that? The ones well lit, clean ones, and they've got like every conceivable.

I like the state welcome centers. Oh yeah, you get to the border and the first stop, those are Yeah.

I always try to hit those.

Up me too. But I'm talking about like when you walk into a convenience store, part of it. They've got every snack that's ever been made, all the two thousands about truck stops and like yeah, and then the rest up trucks like amazing souvenirs.

Okay, yes that truck stops, those are awesome. But the clean ones, Yeah, you've got to be clean ones.

What's your what's your go to roads?

Also, I want them to only sell knives, not guns a truck stop.

I don't want guns.

Knives that's cool, yeah, exactly, dolls.

You can drink the road and I'm buying a shot. So what's your road snack? What do you get?

Oh?

You know, I got a sweet too always things that you would never touch like in real life.

Oh we yeah, you know me, I got a sweet tooth. So that basically means is I get like rare to me gummy worms. I'm like, I've never tried, and I get those or then like I'll get like not only just thoughts. I'm always been like a bunch of always and chocolate eat it all at the same time.

Like I'm kind of like like, yeah, a bad diet, pre diabetic.

I get with. I get with the corn nuts.

You like all those savor.

Things filled with cheese stuff.

Oh yeah, the yeah, the cones, the combos combos. There you go.

Yeah, absolutely, I'm in the car.

Like if hot pocket was a smaller snack.

Yeah, it's so good and so bad.

Yeah.

Anyway, So I wrote a novel about an epic that you.

Did, a really good one called Drift. I recommend it to everybody here.

I am not celebrating the road trip. I know, I take it all back. I want to go on a road trip.

But by the way, just how long could you be if we were to say, drive somewhere five hours six hours?

I like five six is a good sweet spot, Like when I've driven across country have done eight hours, and that's.

Just like I've done that with you. I know too much. I'm like twelve, You're like, I will tell you hell no, I would jump from this car of leisurely thing it's smart.

I'd never traveled like that. It's pretty took like, how long two weeks? How long did drive across country?

Days? But we did eight hours. Yeah, we could have gone, you know, shorter drives each day and it would have been better. Two weeks. Fine, whatever, it's time to a pig. Okay. So anyway, in my book, the protagonist stops at a rest stop, a gas station on the grape Vine And for the uninitiated, that's technically the Teyhone Pass.

Yes, it's a mountain separating La from the valley.

Yes, so it's that stretch of Interstate five between the Central Valley between and you know, connects Central Value, Southern California, cuts right through the Tahatchepee Mountains. There, stops there, Gorman.

Are fine as I've broken down, and Mini and Bec yeah, Lebec, I know Gorman and Lebec.

I'm front down and lots of truck stops, t hone, passed home pass, motels, fast food, gas station like that.

It's come along a lot. Yeah, break down, Oh my gosh.

Yeah, totally. When we were like, oh, Tuble goes by and there's like a cow skill. I want to focus on Libec right now. Though, this is so not a place that one checks out on Google street View and immediately adds to the best visit. Yes I did. I mean I've been there, right, But you know what, God bless, I wish the place is even the best. But as I went to go Google street View and I was like, I was like, this is so much different than my normal Google street View for these things.

Do you know where it gets its name A Frenchman?

Yeah, player, there was a dude Peter le Bec and it was spelled with like the qi on the end. He was a French Canadian trapper in the early eighteen hundreds who made his way down to.

Alta, California.

Then, yeah, he was what was he trapping Ralizabeth, Nauga, prized for their high be No, it looks like he was after.

Bears, grizzly grizzly.

So he caught sight of one in the area that now holds his name, and he gave chase and he shot it under a valley oke and the bear's dying act was to maul and kill him. He's oh, you got me, come over, come look at this boon to.

The family, so hard at your ancestors.

It's well he.

Did shoot the bear. If you shoot the bear, he may shoot back exactly.

He and the bear were buried at the foot of the tree. Yeah, by whom I don't know, the locals, the local tribe, whoever it was, cut back some of the bark on that valley oke and carved Peter Lebec l E. B. E c K Killed by an ex bear October O c.

T r.

Seventeen, eighteen thirty seven on the bear spot. They cart the and as the years passed, the bark of the tree grew up over the carving. And then some fifty or so years later a group came upon the carving all covered up. They preserved it, and then they reburied

Really, it's yeah, they.

Got way more content. We once got an invite to a Clamper event, but I don't know whatever happened with that.

Happened.

I think I really do want to go to one.

I do doo. So we got a second invitement for.

Listening Saren and I want to go to one of your events, like we could turn it into an episode.

We love history and I drink Yeah there it.

Is perfect Lebec. So there's a Flying J truck stop in Lebec.

Oh, Flying Jo.

That is a good solid truck stop. They're usually cleaned and they got a lot of stacks.

Second is Travel Centers of America.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, put a pin in the Flying J for right now. Sure remember it. I'm going to take you up the coast to San Mateo, California, located south of San Francisco on the peninsula of the San Francisco Bay. It was there that the International Gem and Jewelry Show aka inter gem In Corporated GYM was held at the San Mateo County Events Center in twenty twenty two.

I do love a gem and stone show now, Jemmy and jewelry. I don't know a.

Gem and stone show at a county fair ground.

That's that's ideal.

It's like some good.

Stuff right day.

Inter Gem is America's longest running direct to consumer jewelry show.

I did not know that.

You do?

Do You learned that from QVC.

I already knew it. That was that general. I don't have to cite it.

You tell people that.

I don't have to cight it because everyone just telling me the sky is blue like whatever. Started in nineteen sixty seven. Of course, it's also the largest exhibition of gems, minerals and jewelry in the world.

I was just telling you that the other day. I can do it too.

It's good jewelry stores, designers, brokers, they all do like a solid amount of business there.

Okay, all right, So there's like their big dog events.

It's supposed to be deal City Deal. So you go there. It's like deal bottom price ready for deal visitors. They is there in visitors shop directly from manufacturers, really wholesalers and design wholesalers direct to me. They sell jewelry loose gemstones, pearls, watches, antique in the stage, jewelry supplies, chains, charms, accessories, and zeron, so much more.

Did you find this on an AM radio station?

I just became like, this is something that like my grand you know, retired, maybe love to just poke around and go to random sun and eight years old and you and the two of you.

You're going together. We get an air force. I got an air show there.

Sometimes sometimes there are special exhibits at these stuff like famous people's jewelry.

Oh yeah, like Liberaci's rocks, Liberaci stones.

You get the picture. Yeah you did. So they're having one of those shows in July twenty twenty two and San Mateo.

Okay, twenty twenty two, and then a couple.

Of days later it was moving down the road to Pasadena in southern California, in the southland, southern California.

Their next big stop.

Yeah, so rocks get from to get from San Mateo to Pasadena to you know, bedroom communities, most folks would take Interstate five five or as you southlander Angelino.

Say the five because that's what it is.

Yeah, anywhere south Freeways.

Were born in southern California, sorry, south of.

The midpoint in the state. It's the five. We call it five.

Yes, because it's much better to name highways and freeways after what they do and where they go.

So that we're in state five High five. That's what they call it. Sacramento.

Those cakes up in San Mateo sixteen of the jewelers and dealers. They loaded seventy three orange heavy duty bags, each weighing about one hundred pounds into a Brinx tractor.

Trailer trucks has tractor truck, Yeah, big.

Boy, like a long daddy. Not one of the armored trucks.

Oh it's not an armored Is it armored itself?

No?

No?

Okay?

Interesting?

What was in the bags?

What's in the bags? What's in the bags?

They they had sparkling gems, loose diamonds, no loose slu Rolex watches, the works, baby, one of a kind, dazzler's you name it, You name it. Arnold Duke, head of the International Gem and Jewelry Show, said of the Hall quote, the sheer quantity of gems and jewelry wouldn't fit in one car. My question is, what about a super room. There's a lot of headrooms. Did you try it? Arnold duke.

Yeah, I don't think. He don't speak so speaks for itself.

He did not try, He didn't try and shove all that in the subie. At these shows, there are always like public address announcements reminding people to tell security if they see something fishy.

S something, say something exactly.

So the show's manager. Yeah, Brandy Swanson, she actually chased a guy down.

Really. Yeah.

He was wearing a surgical mask and an ear piece. It's twenty twenty two, so he's asking out of the ordinary. And he'd been sitting on this folding chair at the X Center, just watching everyone pack up, like the show was over and the public had all left. He's kind of like an.

Air about it. And from a folding chair.

You brought a chair because his legs get tired.

Yeah, I know. He's waiting for his dad to pick him up.

She walks up to him, She's like, what are you all about? And he was like, I don't speak English.

You're doing a great job a.

Lot when I don't want to talk to strangers, perfect accent, and they're just like, oh, they ask you something, Oh I don't speak English.

Oh you don't, it's too bad, And I walk away I'm gullible.

Yeah no, I just told that. Does it work?

What do people say when you say that?

They just kind of stare at me, and I'm just I'm gone, baby, I'm already walking.

Yeah.

If they're like, will you sign this petition? I don't speak English or I don't live here anyway.

I got to try to live your lifestyle.

You really should walk.

Wearing shirts of Pablo Escobar. People think you notice that.

I see you've got your publish shirt.

Yeah, come through ridiculous crime.

So Brandy she got the guy kicked out. He grabbed it girl, he grabbed his chair, and then she watched him meet up with another guy in a surgical mask, and the two of them scurried off.

So she told some of the Brinks she's chasing his para doctors.

They're on their way to the r But she tells the Brinks people like, it's not a big deal. That's what Brandy says happened. Brinks is like, she never told us anything. I'm signed with Brandon. So there was another dealer who went outside to get some air because I mean, like your head is swimming. After the dazzling Gems saw a car with blacked out windows, including the windshield and no plates. I see those all the time on five eighties.

I'm just I'm so curious.

How well is one padlock? Oh and a plastic security seal on the back doors?

Are you kidding now? Like a loaded Jordan's.

Yes, yes, So the truck had two drivers, James Baby and Tandy Motley. And the truck. You know, while that wasn't armored, James and Tandy they were armed. So this is July tenth, late afternoon, early evening. The destination was the Brink storage yard around three hundred and seventy miles south in Los Angeles. All right, let's stop for some ADS's make us some money. Yeah, we have to save the Community Centers erin.

Totally when we get back, save this flying jay.

More when we get back, zaren.

Okay, So James and James and this giant peach ak they got they they hop in the truck. You're heading from San Mateo.

To Pasadena, La Pasadena.

Three yeah, three hundred and seventy miles south. I guess it's La because the show's in Pasadena. But they're going to like a warehouse.

Oh yeah yeah.

So during the during the loadout, James and Tandy they noticed some dudes watching them, Like, did the guys just like to watch him work and stretch them glues? Tandy wasn't sure, so he goes over to Brandy. He goes to Brandy. He says, Brandy, you're a fine girl. What a good wife you'll be. But my life, my love, and my lady's the sea.

I understand it completely, and so could say that.

No, he said, Brandy, I don't like the looks of those guys. She's like, you know what, I agree with you.

A fine girl, let me tell you.

But then he's like, this is great, we've established we don't like that. But we got to get on the road by and like drive away. And then Brandy did that armpole thing and they hot the horn at her. So, in compliance with Department of Transportation regulations, James he went to sleep as soon as they left. Rude. I hate when I'm driving a long distance and my passenger falls asleep. Really cheeses me off. But I guess the FEDS want

Yeah, put you know, like.

A little crouchet blank his grandma made him.

Yeah, according to Little Dog Ports. The truck pulled in for a stop a little after midnight at the button Willow Rest Areack Button Willow Man, We've all been there. Tandy had to use a little boys room okay, the commode, and that was around one am. And they stopped again at two oh five, this time in La bec. I call foul on the timing, since fifty four miles down five from Button Willow to La Beet.

That doesn't Work's a big old truck.

It's not like a supercar.

Yeah, that's just doesn't work out. Even though I drive like a hundred. That doesn't work.

All of the timing and the court documents was a mess, and it makes me wonder what they're covering up Zarin. What are the ranks using new technologies the government doesn't want us to know about.

That's my question, only logical to the national security apparatus, but I think they usually have this point pretty good geolocators, so you'll be.

Able to I really think that there's some teletransportation going on and they don't want us to know stuff they don't want you to know. Yeah, teleporting. Anyway, it's two five, and for whatever reason they stopped again.

Okay, three oh five would work, but not to.

Let's say it was five. I think that they got.

Was this a day with one of those fallbacks bring forward days? You know what, the time you got an extra hour? This is July right.

Here's what I think happened. I think that like the drivers misspoke and then it got picked up in news stories. And I don't think they were looking at like official still, and I think that they left a little earlier than they said they did. Anyway, So we've we've tracked James and Tandy as they cruised the highways of California. If you are from the bear La, as we said, you know this drive very well, very very well. I can picture the whole thing like I see me doing ninety

I'm staying fresh in case I have to.

Drive federal regulation. We've all been there, and now you're there there. I want you to bigger it. It's two five am on July eleventh, twenty two. You are a small teenage boy sitting cross legged on top of a garbage can, at the gas pumps at the Flying Jay in Lebeca, California. You aren't really a small teenage boy. You're a soul on a mission. You've lived thousands of lives over thousands of years, witness hundreds of events, beautiful moments,

Not damn, that's I mean.

I love the time tripping that was awesome. The kid got killed in the parking lot.

No, no, he closed does it? He ate his size and he vanishes, he goes somewhere else.

Is just a new spirit somewhere else, But it's something like reincarnation, which would imply.

He doesn't necessitated.

Blinks to reply, he's a soul.

Yeah, he's a soul hopper. I love that. The sammar can you have me there? Like, hey, my boy.

So you little boy time traveler. You may not know what's going to happen. We we find out what happens or what went down. So Tandy, as we said, got out to get somebody.

Sure he was famished, but the other driver stayed in the car.

Snooze cise dudes roll up, stole twenty four bags of loot. Tandy came back out, saw the security tag on the ground. Apparently the thieves took the lock with him, and so Tandy like bangs on the side of the truck, wakes James. He hops out, apparently a.

Deep sleeper because that thing that the trailer had to be rocking when they hop in the bag. They're moving stuff and there's multiple men hopping up and down.

Like a face mass. Very noise canceling headphones and like aromatherapy reeks of lavender in the sleeping cabin. So they like they open up the bag and they're fearing the worst, and it was bad. The thieves had taken bags from the front of the trailer, which is where they had put the higher value stuff. Oh yeah, they didn't just take the bags of beads door. So and it looked like that they had seen the thieves had seen it get low. So the drivers they call the cops. LA

Yeah, I mean, it seems like an inside job.

Well, they got confused about some of the markings on the bag. The whole thing's messy, Like they're rattled. Yeah, and you know, they know they're hauling a lot of value.

I mean, they're probably an to get fired.

They know they're going to be scrutinized the few days. Yeah, and then there's got to be that feeling of like literally dodging a bullet because it was like a sneaky heist and not at the end of a barrel of a gun, so they didn't get got and maybe there's like the adrenaline of that.

I thought maybe those guys were anywhere knows.

Pepper, Yeah, so he needed some Like Carlstenior, there wasn't any CCTV coverage in the area of the lot where they were parked, which is that's also I'm also wondering about the footage from other big rigs because like in the bodycam footage, the guy who's in the truck park next to the Brinks rig comes out and it's like, what's going on off sir and the cops. Like anyone I think who spends a lot of time on the road these days seems to have dash.

Cam, yes, especially hauling anything worthwhile or.

That you have to prove that you weren't tru But so we just know that flying j didn't cover that part of the lot that maybe it scares away the lizards.

They don't want to know what goes on over there.

You no A witness at the Flying j said that he heard some of the guys speaking in a language other than English to each other, and he was like, it wasn't Spanish, because I would recognize that it was something else. He was probably all, they didn't say gelopa, no pepper or buenos dias, so it's not Spanish. They

There's no weird bank accounts. Stand they're just kind of incompetent, Like you said, families.

Like the slow He yeah, as you said, it did have the feel of an inside job though.

Right he does.

I mean all the all the facts, I mean, just the fact that they stopped and they did and where they did.

There were thoughts that maybe someone at Brinks tipped off thieves as to the route. Sure, Tandy told the cops at the Flying Jay that maybe he was followed and it could have been thieves working on behalf of one of the jewelers running an.

Insurance Oh whoa, I'm like.

Slow down their Columbos road and let the pros look into that.

Yeah right, He's like, then it's going to insurance fraud. From one of the fellow gymologists, I'm like.

WHOA, Like, Tandy, you need to take a nap. So Brinks said that about eight point seven million dollars worth of goods had been stolen. Some of the jewelers and the dealers who lost their stuff sued Brinks. I mean the truck only had a padlock on it. Here's the problem.

They I would rather make less on a on a theft get paid back so they can make more down the line.

It is estimated the actual value of everything stolen was around one hundred million dollars.

What, yes, that's not that's not lowbill. That everything that was lying.

And that's not everything that was in the truck. That's it makes it one of the largest jewelry thefts in modern American history.

One of the largest American pieces.

That they've shown pictures of are pretty impressive. Others, I think maybe it's for the best that they're gone.

Really, yeah, they're kind of.

No Brinks filed the countersuit. They wanted to limit the payout to only yes, sue me, sue you. They want they're like, look, you declared a value of eight point seven million. That's that's what we're paying. And they're like, you lied, that's a breach of.

Contract, that's fraud.

Yeah, so there's no way around it. Though. The heist destroyed some people in their businesses did yeah. In a statement upon filing suit, the plaintiff said, quote, everyone in our group has and emotionally and financially destroyed. We are lost and do not know what comes next in our lives. Whatever plans we all have for the future for our businesses and our families has evaporated in an instant.

So that sucks for.

Them, seriously. In their laws. Are the jewelers there and they're all small.

Fanis imagine independent jewelers.

Yeah, it's not.

You see it all together with their cases in like a downtown yes, like plaza.

It's not every kid jewelers. Yeah, so they were looking for one hundred million dollars in damages and one hundred million in restitution from Brains. And they said that it was a Brinx employee who told them to undervalue the merch in their pickup manifest quote in order to save money because the cost of shipping would be too expensive if they declared the full value of their goods. According to CNN.

And do they do they name this employee? Imagine you kind of have to have that person.

I think there are a lot of them, said, so I think they're different.

They're saying they were getting it.

Oh, so that was kind of like.

It's like a common snake industry. So CNN. Quote. One merchant told CNN thirty years of his life's work was stolen in the heist. He didn't share his name nor the name of his businesses with CNN over concerns of being targeted again. He expressed that he was quote emotional and speechless and wants quote brings to answer to him after losing some collectibles and unique pieces in the theft. So you think about it, it's twenty twenty two. COVID

Sure.

And then yeah, these dealers and the jewelers, they go to the expo. They're hoping to make these sales, keep the businesses going.

To pay their rent back home.

Uh. People go to the expos to try and get a good deal on the stuff. So there aren't like high rollers in the sense that they'll pay top dollar. The whole thing's kind of hard scrabble for these guys, and now it's gone. So according to the La Times, quote, one of the victims, Malki of forty seventh and fifth Incorporated, said that telling his children about the theft was the toughest thing he'd ever done. Quote. They always looked at me.

Oh man, I know I've dealt with a bunch of these people because I've sold and been with people to recommend and go through the process with them selling loose diamonds.

And they are not with people picture you know what I mean. You know, they're very usually family men, family women who've been running a business, working with often their husband or wife.

Yeah, they're not flashy. Yeah, And we've talked about this before, like how we tell these stories. But there are victims on the other end of things, and that's you know why we like weed smugglers and those who steal from the violently.

Well, yeah, it's easier to write because like.

No one's losing their life savings, no.

One's destroyed, they're just embarrassed.

Well not here. Yeah, people lost their livelihoods here. So the detail of the stolen inventory is just staggering. One guy lost more than thirteen hundred items that he'd put together over decades worth at least like twelve million dollars, and of course he admitted that he only shired it at a value of four hundred thousand dollars. Oh yeah, let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll hear more from these devastated jewelers. And then we've got a little bit of a twist. Nice zaren Okay, So we took

Oh, she's now in the hook.

Yeah, because she's eighty three. All these other older vendors and those who had like compromised immune systems who didn't want to go get exposed to COVID. Oh, they couldn't be at the show, so now their stuff's gone to Yeah, so three of the fourteen plaintiffs in the suit settled with Brinks. No word on for how much. Some wound up suing Flying J too. They said that there'd been a bunch of thefts at that location and they should

Okay, this is one of those you have to exhibit exercise control kind of thing.

So you know, I mean, they could have had better camera setups whatever, But I mean especially because like think about the amount of merchandise and goods that sits in that lot at any young time, like trailers full of like electronics, old navy fashions, jelly sandals.

You'll be breaking in.

Vape cartridges, holiday buntings, decorative figurines, closed soap. Yeah, Zarin, there's no telling what's in those trucks.

Diapers given time.

Dipies go on the streets. Yeah, oh, they done so either way, eggs, eggs. The jewelers, those jewelers are devastated. Some of them closed their business, others struggled along. And it seemed to be just an unfortunate and brazen crime now in the past. But then just recently something changed changed, Sarain. We've had this wild ride together with this. It's one of the biggest jewelry heights in US history, right here in the Golden State. Can I tell you something though

Jay Whoa, they stayed and.

It turns out it was a crew that had been planning this for some time, like practicing their highest pulling out.

Yeah, I curious huh, that.

Happened like just a few days ago, back in a time when we were recording this. So we just have the arrest. At some point in the future, will get a flurry of emails and dms telling us about the court case and the sentencing er acquittal all. Give an update then, and then we'll continue to get Instagram d ms about the results of the case for the next year or so, even after I give the updates such as.

Life, Such is life. I was really hoping that the CHP was playing a prominent role on the bus. I love the HP. I know you do.

You really do.

We have to talk about that. I respect them, you love them.

I do love them. I've been totally like treated poorly by the sage.

That's why we're talking about you should not love people who treat you so poorly. I respect them. You can respect people who it's a different level. You got to stop licking them when you're around.

That's where I have to apologize. Got a condition, It's.

Okay, yeh, And I'm like, no leaky, leaky. Prosecutors alleged that there are seven co conspirators who carried out the theft Sven. Yeah, the men were each charged with conspiracy to commit theft from interstate Inflorence shipment.

Could you repeat that more time?

It was conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment. I got you so nice, I named it twice. Some are facing additional charges. Who are they?

I just about asked? Do we ever get to the I could list their names their name, but you won't.

But they've only been indicted, not like convicted.

You don't want to.

I don't want to put their names out there. If you're so inclined and you have too much time on your hands, you can go ahead and get to googling.

Do we know where? Ruffian? Where they come from?

This is exactly what I'm going to tell you, so thank you. I will say that they're all men, okay, and I'm going to give you their ages and their cities of residence. Ah Okay, So thirty one years old, Pasadenak thirty six years old, Boyle Heights, currently an inmate in Arizona State Prison. Okay forty one years old out of rialto.

Okay, I'm going with Hispanic.

So far sixty out of Rampart Village neighborhood, Heights thirty three out of South La.

Okay forty two.

Forty two coming out of Uplands Oppland, Okay, and thirty six of the Westlake.

Neighborhood of La Wow like Toronto's.

So I will say that if the witness at the truck stop did actually see some of them there and heard them talking, then he was wrong about it not being Spanish that they.

Spoke, yes, because it does certainly seem.

They didn't say gilapino popper. You know as well as I that there are many dialects of Spanish.

Suns, and like I couldn't even in countries like I learned in Colombian, I could start picking up party accents and be like, oh, you're from Medaine.

Tell, And I couldn't tell from their last names. If there was a specific shared country of origin, might be the United States, to be honest, Texas, But Mexican Spanish different places is a lot different than Spain Spanish, which is different than Colombian Spanish, Cuban Spanish Spanish.

It's crazy, and each of these they.

Got their own slaying idioms anyway, back to the purpse. So if convicted, five of them got would get steeper charges and could face up to twenty years in federal prison for each robbery charge. All the defendants could be looking to at least five years for the theft conspiracy charge and then ten for the thefts quote. It was a long time coming, and there were times when the victims and members of the team wondered whether we see this success. That's an Assistant US Attorney Kevin Butler talking.

So what happens with restitution and all that kind of stuff.

Like I don't even think they touch on that.

Yeah, but I mean, like, is there any hope that not that they'll recover the gen sell them.

Some of the stolen jewelry was recovered during the searches. Yeah, and I feel like maybe they held onto the watches. That's just conjecture on my part. Liked it, Yeah, but I think it's great that they were able to get some of the stuff. Three years on, the Feds also found a bunch of cash, so there was like fencing going on. Most of the stolen goods are still missing, but there's still more search.

Warrants to execute.

Sure, I believe it may find more stuff. I believe that will find more people.

May they might find the tackier pieces they couldn't move. Yeah, So the crews planning for the heist allegedly started at the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo, Tucson. So allegedly the main guy case the show for days starting on July eighth, the guy with the chair, yeah, twenty twenty two. July eighth, he found out where they were going. Next, he watched the comings and goings. He checked out the wars. July tenth, three other guys allegedly

Very fast and furious. Yeah.

So there were different cars following the truck, taking turns, getting one to like subtly follow the load. Because the drivers when they were talking to the deputy showed.

There's the headlights. If it's just the same headlights chasing around five.

You're always gonna you can go a long way with like someone right behind you.

Something as if you get off, they get off, you get off, the get off.

I mean that would be weird, right, And so the guy the when he talked to the deputies Tandy, when he was like, I don't think we were followed. I didn't see anybody.

So they were running rounds on them.

And so they're like they're coming on and off summer stationed down the highway waiting for their turn to hop on tail the truck. They would call each other keep tabs like this, like mobile logistics operation. Oh, it doesn't say in the court filing how the crew gained access to the trailer. Yeah, I'm guessing like bolt cutters are like a grinder. Which even then, so if they had

So anyway, locks are not difficult if it's just like no.

No, Yeah, they broke into the truck.

You have a little liquid oxygen and break that right open.

And they emptied the bags into the car. And then the indictment says that they drove to East Hollywood and apparently they had no idea how much stuff they'd gained.

Are you for real? They it just got lucky.

They got was a major score. They had no idea. So they're just opening these bags being like, oh my god, if.

You did a crime that was so good that you have to leave your life.

Well, in the days afterwards, a bunch of them start deactivating their cell phone numbers.

The best thing you could do is leave the country.

Yeah, they must have been so spooked by this.

Go to a little ranch in some place that speaks the language you speak and nobody.

They didn't. Though they didn't. This wasn't their first heist though. Apparently in the months leading up to the back heist, a bunch of the crew members pulled off a series of thefts all across.

San Bernardino County.

So in some of those cases, the mos No, it's pretty much the same, like they would case and follow truck stops. Yeah, they went to truck stops similar places they would quote identify and rob steele, unlawfully take and unlawfully carry away a variety of merchandise. So, according to the indictment, yeah, they used multiple vehicles to follow trucks carrying shipments of electronics and other items until they would reach a stopping point, and then the alleged thieves would

My pain a couple of guys who did this.

And he did any of them. I should have listed the names.

No, it's a common form of pirracy. Yeah, yeah so it.

March second, twenty twenty two months before the Lebeck heist, prosecutors said that members of the crew used multiple vehicles to follow a truck carrying Samsung electronics from Ontario, California.

Oh yeah, so when.

The vehicle stopped at a store in Ontario, crew members allegedly distracted the driver in the shop while some in the group stole the electronics. And I would love to know how they distracted the driver. Was like raise their skirt and show like a fish netted cat.

They did a mime show with balloons.

Yeah, they were like someone like trips and falls and spills chocolate milk all over the floor and they're staring, comes to help and cries, just starts crying and.

Beating up adults. That's what's going on in this town.

That hall was worth almost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

That's much smaller. Yeah, but that's that's probably what they normally would get.

That's what they're thinking. Yeah, so le's.

After that they got.

Another box truck, and that one ironically was carrying Apple air tags.

A rough one. Yeah.

The driver stopped for food in Fontana and the guys made their move. They walked away with fifty seven thousand dollars in air tags.

Is that a lot? Yeah? I think I don't how much air tags?

Like twenty five bucks? Okay, okay, Well they started to walk away because the driver caught him. Maybe they were air tags. So the driver caught the thieves. According to the indictment, one who had like a small knife, allegedly yelled, don't move or I will help you up.

That's knife all night.

Within the small knife. They had other failures. May twenty fifth, twenty twenty two, A bunch of them tried to drive to a truck stop in Fontana to steal from a truck. They used a crowbar to break in. It took off before they could grab anything.

With a lock. Conversation, I guess really not that.

Later that same day they went back to Fontana, this time they stole more. Samsung Electronics valued it a little more than fourteenth.

Though good electronics. Elizabeth yeah So.

Reached for comment. MALKI remember the jeweler, He told the La Times the indictment was quote awesome. Quote. I don't know what to say, he said. I'm absolutely shocked.

He is a tough guy.

He's a tough guy. In response to the charges, Brinks said the statement, quote, we deeply appreciate the efforts of law enforcement to resolve this matter. We will continue to watch the case closely.

Oh my god, what a nothing.

Stay absolutely nothing statement. So that's where we are on this. This is this is as far as this train goes. Zaren, what's your ridiculous takeaway.

I'm still hung up on the idea that if you have a scored this big, it's kind of like the plot to No Country for Old Men, where you come along this this crazy money, you realize this life changing, but then you also realize someone's.

Gonna come looking for Oh yeah.

And I've got to hide from that person. And if it's crime like they are, it's going to be either law enforcement or fellow criminals either one. It's going to be people who are motivated, Yeah, can find you. So I feel bad for them in a certain way that they did so well. They did too well, something.

That would have worked in like the seventies.

Yes, without so much.

There's so much technology where you can track them and like cameras, so we don't know based on these search horms. We don't know what like dash cam footage they had, you know with the jewelry. Now they do like microscopic lasers.

Yeah, then grave.

Engraving on stuff that you can.

Track holographic marks that are like.

Yeah, So it's like there, there's it's so hard to get away with this kind of thing, and we leave a digital footprint everywhere we go. So anyway, I really do want to get a burner phone. I don't know why.

Yeah, I know you want to get a flip phone or burner phone. Away, Elizabeth.

My takeaway is that I saw that it's it's interesting to tell a story like this where I was looking at it. I've been like kind of looking at it for a bit of this is a good story, but like it wasn't fully enough, and then all of a sudden these arrests came in. I was like I pounced on it. Like I can't.

They got them.

They got them, Dave. I think we could do with a talk bag.

Oh my god, I want.

My name's Ann.

I've been listening to you since the beginning. I just really appreciate you, guys. I must say, I am listening to the American Beatles episode and this is probably the most voices I have ever heard Zarin use, which is great entertainment. Thanks for a good job, everybody, ridiculous crime staff. I forgot to mention I was nine years old when the Beatles, the British Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show. We just thought they were kind of odd. Anyway, Thanks you.

I love the nine year old perspective on that.

Yeah, likes love this, but I don't know. I see a mop haired It's just a little strange.

That's awesome. I love that you're getting some props for your voices.

Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.

And I'm trying to do non offensive accents when I do accent, so if ever, I apologize to those I've offended in the past. And I just know that for the most part, I try to stick to accents that I have family connections to, like I have the genes like if I'm doing an accent, I'm like, honestly, I'm one of your people.

I'm sorry, I.

Love that, right, that's a good ethos to have.

Can I do that? Like? I'm French too?

Why not?

Good at it?

But that's it for today. You can find us online at ridiculous Crime dot com. Did you know fun fact about our website?

No? I don't.

It's on the e PA's number three why super fun site?

Oh yeah, without you.

We're on blue Sky and Instagram Ridiculous Crime. We're also on YouTube Ridiculous Crime Pod, and you can email us at ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com, leave a talk download the free iHeart app, leave us a talkback, Please reach out. Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zaren Burnett, produced and edited by Dave Cousten. A Friend in the Diamond Business starring Annals Rutger as Judith. Research

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