A former Brink’s armored truck driver was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday after he admitted to staging a robbery of almost $500,000.
Senior U.S. District Judge William Steele delivered the sentence in federal court in Mobile and ordered the driver, 25 year-old Jonah Bessard, to return the stolen money. The money stolen during the fake robbery totaled $489,000, and Bessard admitted to stealing $134,700 since starting his employment with Brink’s.
Bessard reportedly planned a fake robbery that took place on Jan. 5 with two other accomplices. According to Bessard’s plea deal, he had picked up bags of cash from New Horizon Credit Union and then separated the bags that contained the largest bills, placing those bags in the passenger side of his truck. He stopped to get coffee at a convenience store in Theodore, Alabama where two men threw him on the ground. One man reportedly held Bessard at gunpoint while the other took the money from the truck. The two men then drove off.
Law enforcement obtained a warrant to search a storage unit registered to Bessard three days later, where they found over $100,000. Bessard was arrested on charges of theft of property and theft conspiracy on Jan. 9.