Dallas Man Admits Committing Armored Car Robbery

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Texas
April 23, 2009

DALLAS—Donald Ray Williams, 53, most recently of Dallas, pled guilty today in federal court to charges related to his involvement in the September 2007 robbery of a Loomis armored car in which nearly $2 million was stolen, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. At the time of the robbery, the armored car was parked at a Chase Bank located at 1824 Abrams Road, in Dallas. Williams pled guilty to one count of interference with commerce by threats or violence and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle on August 6, 2009, and faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Freddy Lee Foots, Williams’ co-conspirator, was arrested days after the robbery, following a long-distance, high-speed chase that ended in Van Horn, Texas. More than $400,000 in cash was found in the trunk of Foots’ vehicle and another $145,000 was found in the vehicle that was accompanying him. Foots was convicted at trial on the same charges to which Williams pled, and was sentenced in October 2008 to more than 29 years in federal prison. He was also required to forfeit a 2005 Mercedes-Benz that he purchased with the proceeds of the offense.

Williams evaded arrest for nearly 18 months, but was arrested on March 15, 2009, in Rosebud, Texas. He admitted that the stolen money was divided between himself and the other individuals that participated in the robbery, with Williams’ share of the proceeds being $300,000. When he was arrested, Williams had approximately $9000 of the stolen cash in his possession. Approximately $27,000 in additional stolen funds was found at a location that Williams used in the days leading up to his arrest. Williams also admitted that he had used a portion of the stolen money to buy a BMW for himself, a Volkswagen for his girlfriend, as well as clothing, shoes, and numerous other items.

Williams admitted that in the weeks leading up to the robbery, he and others discussed and planned when and where the robbery would occur, the roles each participant would play in the robbery, and what steps would be taken to avoid apprehension. Williams and others watched the bank in the weeks leading up to the robbery to determine when the armored car made deliveries to the bank and what procedures were followed by the Loomis employees once the armored car arrived at the bank.

During the early morning hours on September 5, 2007, Williams and others traveled to a parking lot near the bank, where a stolen van to be used in the robbery had been placed. After the armored car arrived, other co-conspirators armed themselves with firearms and drove to the bank in the stolen van. Williams admitted remaining behind at the parking lot to serve as a “look-out” and warn his co-conspirators of any law enforcement presence.

Williams admitted that when his co-conspirators arrived at the bank, they exited the van wearing masks and pointed firearms at the Loomis employee, and bags of U.S. currency were taken from the armored car and loaded into the van. The money was then brought back to Williams’ location, removed from the van, and placed into a blue Honda Accord. Williams and his accomplices then drove away, leaving the stolen van behind.

In 1981, Freddy Lee Foots and Donald Ray Williams robbed a bank in downtown Dallas, and both served federal prison sentences for that offense. A few years later, in 1988, Foots and Williams participated in another Loomis armored car robbery in Dallas, virtually identical to this one. Foots served approximately 18 years and Williams served approximately 15 years.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jacks and Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Dallas FBI, thank the public who contacted law enforcement regarding Williams’ whereabouts. They also express their appreciation to the Rosebud Police Department, Temple Police Department, Falls County Sheriff’s Office, McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, FBI Austin, FBI San Antonio, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Office of Inspector General and all other law enforcement agencies that have assisted in this investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert.