ARMORED CAR ROBBERY INVESTIGATION LEADS TO CRIMINAL CHARGE

On behalf of Craig E. Gibbs, Attorney at Law posted in criminal defense on Friday, June 16, 2017.

A young man faces a federal criminal charge in connection with a recent attempted robbery of an armored car in the New Orleans area. During the course of the robbery attempt, gunfire was exchanged between the would-be robbers and the guards in the armored car. One of the guards died from gunshot wounds suffered during the incident.

To be clear, though, the young man is not being formally charged in connection with the robbery, but is rather being charged for lying to law enforcement, since he gave information to investigators about what he was doing that day which is, according to police, verifiably false.

Specifically, police connected the possible getaway car to the young man. After the incident, police tracked down the vehicle’s owner, who was the suspect’s grandfather. The grandfather said his grandson had borrowed the car on the day of the robbery.

The young man later offered to talk to officials about the incident and reported that he did not drive in the area of the robbery while he had the car and also had not made any phone calls on his cell phone. According to police, there is video of the young man indeed driving in the vicinity of the robbery and also made at least one on his cell phone that day to a friend and “associate” who lived in the area.

One of the lessons in this case is that although a person has no obligation to talk to the police about their involvement, or lack thereof, in criminal activity, a person who does choose to speak to the police must tell the truth. Not doing so can lead to serious criminal charges on both the state and federal level. In this case, the young man is in the federal court system and has been ordered held without the possibility of bond.

Just as much as a robbery charge, a perjury charge or other charge related to dishonesty often requires the person accused to put up a strong criminal defense. Even if they seem relatively harmless, such charges can have a serious impact on a person’s personal and professional life and can spell months or even years in jail.

Source: The Times-Picayune, “Pickup seen near slaying of armored-truck guard belongs to relative of man questioned in robbery: court documents,” Laura McKnight, June 13, 2017.

Tags: Criminal Defense

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