Men stalked armored truck before taking $150,000 in Ellenton armed robbery
Tampa Fla September 16, 2024
A jury found a man guilty of being the lookout for a group who ambushed and robbed an armored truck of over $150,000 in Ellenton, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Jorge Serrano Espinoza, a 20-year-old from Clearwater, appeared in a Tampa courtroom on Wednesday where court records show a federal jury convicted him on robbery and firearm charges.
On June 9, 2023, prosecutors say Espinoza, James Battle Jr. and Carlos Keanu Smith followed an armored truck along its route from Pinellas County to the One9 Travel Center gas station and truck stop at 5215 17th St. E., Ellenton.
As the GardaWorld employee returned to the armored truck after picking up a deposit, prosecutors say Battle and Smith approached the man, pointing pistols at him and forcing him to the ground before taking the keys to his vehicle and removing “several bags.”
The men stole more than $150,000 from the armored truck before fleeing the scene, according to an arrest report.
Prosecutors say Espinoza acted as the lookout and warned the two men when the armored truck driver attempted to reach for his firearm.
Espinoza also provided one of the firearms used in the robbery and watched the driver at one of the earlier stops on his route, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Surveillance and traffic camera footage showed the suspect vehicle following the armored truck along its route at several other stops, according to an arrest report.
Detectives say a search of a law enforcement database revealed Battle was a former employee of GardaWorld who is alleged to have stolen $173,000 in 2022, according to an arrest report. Detectives said Battle used his “personal knowledge of the inner workings of GardaWorld” to commit the robbery.
Four days after the robbery, detectives say a caller reported to the Clearwater Police Department that she saw a man attaching a silencer to a pistol while driving a black Chevrolet Equinox that matched the description of the suspect vehicle.
When police responded to the call and identified the man as Battle, they took him into custody. A search warrant executed on Battle’s phone revealed cell phone records that showed Battle was “using a cellular tower that is consistent with” the phone being present at the scene of the robbery during the time it happened, according to an arrest record.
Battle and Smith previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the robbery, according to a news release. Information about Smith’s arrest was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.
A judge sentenced Battle to 10 years in federal prison, while Smith’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 10.
Espinoza’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 12, according to court records.
