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SAN BENITO, Texas (ValleyCentral) Three armored truck workers were arrested after allegedly scheming to steal from their company while on their lunch break.
The general manager of Rochester Armored Company filed a police report on February 11. The manager told police that four days prior to his report, a money bag was stolen from a service truck while his crew was out to lunch.
Upon further investigation, a San Benito Police Detective learned that two men who work for the armored company went out to lunch that day in a work truck.
The men, identified as Reymundo Cerda, 24 of Harlingen, and Benjamin Rudy Eckersley, 24 of Brownsville, broke company protocol by parking their work truck out of sight and leaving it unattended. Cerda, the driver of the truck, parked away from the Domino’s Pizza where they were eating lunch and instead parked near an ACE Loan shop.
Cerda and Eckersley went on break at the same time and left their vehicle unattended.
Authorities believe the two men were in cahoots with a third man, named Gilberto De Leon Jr., 30 of San Benito.
De Leon Jr. used a spare key to get into the truck and steal a money bag that contained $115,240, according to police.
De Leon Jr. was seen on surveillance video walking away from the truck with a “bulge under his shirt.”
Through their investigation, police learned that De Leon Jr. was the mastermind behind the theft and allegedly offered Cerda and Eckersley a cut of the money they stole.
Following the theft, the three men met at De Leon Jr.’s apartment in San Benito and split the cash, police say.
According to police, Eckersely was given $5,000 to keep quiet about the scheme, Cerda was paid $50,300 for his role and De Leon was left with the $59,940.
All three men were arrested Tuesday. They all confessed to knowing about the scheme.
De Leon Jr. was charged with theft of cargo and money laundering. He was issued a total bond of $350,000.
Cerda was charged with theft of cargo and money laundering and issued a total bond of $210,000.
Eckersley was charged with money laundering.
Both Cerda and Eckersley have been released on bond. De Leon Jr. remains jailed at the Carrizales Rucker Detention Center in Olmito.
