San Antonio police says social media bragging brought down alleged armored truck robber
San Antonio Texas March 22 2024
The second individual the San Antonio Police Department claims robbed an armored truck at gunpoint was arrested. SAPD has identified Melvin Charles Hill as the second individual they believe robbed several secured boxes of cash from the Brink’s truck that was depositing money into a Wells Fargo ATM.
Hill has a history in the Bexar County justice system dating back to 2008 when he was arrested for theft of a vehicle, and court records indicate he was referred to the Texas Department of Corrections four times for crimes committed in 2008, 2009, and 2017. His alleged accomplice in the armored truck robbery, DeAndre Dayshawn Nelson, has no criminal history in Bexar County, according to court records.
A man accused of robbing a Brink’s armored truck was promptly arrested by the San Antonio Police Department after detectives say he “bragged” on social media about the robbery. 28-year-old DeAndre Dayshawn Nelson was charged with aggravated robbery Wednesday, March 20, according to Bexar County court records.
A statement released by SAPD states two individuals robbed the armored vehicle Wednesday while it was making its rounds. The two individuals reportedly pulled up next to the armored truck in their own vehicle and held the armored truck driver at gunpoint. The two took an undisclosed amount of cash-filled cartridges and fled the scene, according to the SAPD statement.
An arrest warrant affidavit or Nelson obtained by MySA states the incident occurred in the 1500 block of Austin Highway as a female guard with Brink’s was attempting to load cash into a Well’s Fargo ATM. The warrant, drafted by Robbery Task Force Unit agent Matthew Bernal, says the Brink’s guard was rushed at gunpoint as she attempted to load the ATM. The warrant accuses Nelson and another actor of demanded the security gaurd get on the ground, and the two grabbed multiple secured boxes from the armored truck which contained “large amounts of U.S. currency.”
In conjunction with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, SAPD detectives immediately took to investigating the incident and identified the two individuals and the vehicle reportedly used in the armed robbery. Nelson was taken into custody that same day and charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony in Texas, while the other individual remains under investigation, according to the SAPD statement.
The arrest warrant affidavit for Nelson says a witness was able to provide SAPD detectives with a license plate. After tracking down the Black GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck to a home in the 4000 block of Bikini Drive on the Northeast Side, detectives obtained a search warrant for the vehicle which revealed a handgun and loose cash in the back seat, according to the warrant.
“It was revealed that one of the suspects was already arrogantly bragging that he was going to the casino to spend a lot of money,” the SAPD statement reads. “Well, thanks to our SAPD Robbery Task Force, Street Crime, Eagle and Raven units, the suspects fantasies of becoming high rollers are no more! Great job to everyone involved in getting these criminals off the streets to make a safer San Antonio.”
