Former Driver Sentenced to 80-Month Prison Term for Taking Part in Armed Robbery of Armored Truck |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia
May 2, 2011
WASHINGTON—Tyronda Ferrell, 23, a former driver for Brink’s Inc., was sentenced today to 80 months in prison for her role in the September 2010 armed robbery of one of the company’s armored trucks. During the brazen, mid-afternoon robbery, she and two others held the truck’s guard at gunpoint and escaped with more than $700,000.
The sentencing, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Ferrell, of Hyattsville, Md., Richard Lee, 32, of Washington, D.C., and David Reddix, 23, also of Washington, D.C., pled guilty earlier this year to armored car robbery. Ferrell was sentenced by the Honorable Ellen S. Huvelle. Lee and Reddix are awaiting sentencing.
According to the government’s evidence, Ferrell, then a guard for Brink’s, had several conversations prior to the crime with Reddix about robbing a Brink’s armored truck. Reddix, a longtime friend to Ferrell, recruited another friend, Lee, to assist with the robbery.
On the day of the crime, September 2, 2010, Brink’s dispatched an armored truck to deliver and pick up money and other valuables from banks and businesses in Northern Virginia. Ferrell was one of two armed guards and the driver of the truck. Following the plan, developed by Reddix and Ferrell, Ferrell completed her normal pick-ups in Northern Virginia and then drove the truck to a Wendy’s restaurant in the 4000 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE.
At the Wendy’s, at about 2:40 p.m., Ferrell parked the armored truck and, shortly afterward, the second guard was approached by Reddix and Lee. Reddix, wearing a mask and carrying a pellet gun that closely resembled a handgun, ordered the second guard to open the door to the truck.
Reddix and Lee entered the truck, ordered the second guard to fill a bag with money, and instructed Ferrell to drive away. The second guard was forced into the rear of the truck, where Lee took his gun. Lee and Reddix remained in the back of the armored truck, holding the second guard at gunpoint, while Ferrell drove the armored truck to an alley on 45th Street NE.
Reddix and Lee then left with $721,309 that they took from the vehicle. They planned to meet Ferrell later that night to split the stolen money. However, Ferrell was arrested that night, and Reddix and Lee were arrested within days.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director McJunkin, and Chief Lanier commended the exceptional investigative work of the FBI/MPD Violent Crimes Task Force and MPD Detective Buddy Baylor. They also thanked legal assistant LaToya Wade and paralegal Sam Reisen, who provided administrative support, and the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Lastly, they praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Connelly, who is prosecuting these cases.