July 3, 2025 • 55 mins
It was a pretty genius plan. Steal gems from a Brinks truck as it made its way from one jewelry show to another. And the heist crew pulled it off…sort of. Seems practice runs can both improve the actual big theft, but also leave a trail of evidence for the feds. Oh, well.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Zara, Elizabeth, it's you, It's me, Saron Brunette.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
That's right, that's a.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Listen pal. You know it's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Yes, I do, Elizabeth. I'm glad you asked me. Cowboy hats.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, totally ridiculous on birds, super ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
So you got family in Las Vegas, I do.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
Did they ever tell you about about a little time
about five six years ago when people were seeing birds
fly around Las Vegas with cowboy hats?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
No, par did share this with me.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Apparently for a while in December of twenty nineteen, people
were noticing these.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Quote the birds have hats on bro.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
So somebody they recorded a twelve second video in a
parking lot of these birds like pecking at Dorito's, like
thrown into a parking lot, just on a normal like
seven to eleven parking lot. Yeah, but the birds were
wearing cowboy hats, tiny cowboy hats, little pigeons with tiny.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Proof.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
There is it.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
There is video proof, and the videos were shared and
enjoy to buy millions.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Well otherwise it's just's yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Now people were like, wait a minute, did he do this?
And then somebody else. Someone else pointed out that the
Wrangler National Finals rodeo was in town, and they're like,
did they do this as like a hype thing for
the rodeo. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association had to come
out and say, we had nothing to do with the
pigeons wearing cowboy hats.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Wait wait, since someone was just a vigilante, yes, as
pigeon exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police had to come out and say.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
It does not appear to be a police matter at
this time.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
The Clark County spokeswoman, they said, I have no immediate comment.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I didn't know what to do right.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Some people were worried, so like a veterinarian came in
and said, well, actually, they make a glues for animals,
and I think that they may not be it's not
obstructing their vision or their ability to eat, So I
think that the birds will be fine. Okay, because apparently
they make this like spargum for birds. I think they
think that somebody just plopped that on the pigeon's head
and propped it on there instead of using like super glue,
(02:05):
and you.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Know, they got some of that like showgirls.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Yeah, so they they look like there. It was not
that the animals were hurt, Elizabeth, I don't worrying. They
were just upgraded fashion.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Man. There you go. That's ridiculous. Do you want to
know what else is ridiculous?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Goodness?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Yeah, the grape Vine.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
No, no, this is ridiculous Crime a podcast about absurd
(02:49):
and outrageous capers. Heis and cons it's always ninety nine
percent murder free and one hundred percent ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
You heard that, right? You?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
All right? Do you pull something?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
The interns? Hold me down.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
There. You're a big road trip guy.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Oh my god. I lived for road trips. That's what
I did for my birthday last year. I took a
road trip by.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Myself, just drove across country.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
That was my gift to myself. I drove across country
all by myself.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It was awesome. Took me like five days.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
It was love pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
It's one of my favorite things to do.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I get carsick easily. Oh that's not my favorite.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Oh that totally. Did it happen even if you're driving?
That that helps.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, if I'm driving, it's not an issue. But I
also just don't like to sit for such long perme time.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Twelve hours as long as the world's moving.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
I love the concept of a road. Are parts that
I enjoy like I like going places that I've never been.
That's true, things that I may never see again.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
This is true.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
And the life I love is making music with my friends.
So that's why you get on the road again, On
the road again, but on the road again, Elizabeth, I
am band the Gypsies. We go down the highway, making friends,
best of friends, insisting in the world turning our way
and our way on the aga. Okay, So I do
(04:07):
love a good roadside stand or oh that's true.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
You you will make us pull over if I'm ever
in the car.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
They got a lot of those on the old roots.
Like strawberries you one o one from the bay to
l A. Like strawberry stands, cherries and cherries, garlic.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
You'll stop for avocado, artichokes.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, yeah, I'll bust it out for vegetables.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Will get a stop for you.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
One time, one of the best discoveries I ever had
was in an artichoke stand. I bought some seasoning called
garlic Dude dust. If you can get your hands on it,
I use it on everything anyway. I like stopping at
nice rest stops.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
That's true, like nice, what is nice?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Like that? The ones well lit, clean ones, and they've
got like every conceivable.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I like the state welcome centers. Oh yeah, you get
to the border and the first stop, those are Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I always try to hit those.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Up me too. But I'm talking about like when you
walk into a convenience store, part of it. They've got
every snack that's ever been made, all the two thousands
about truck stops and like yeah, and then the rest
up trucks like amazing souvenirs.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Okay, yes that truck stops, those are awesome. But the
clean ones, Yeah, you've got to be clean ones.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
What's your what's your go to roads?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Also, I want them to only sell knives, not guns
a truck stop.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
I don't want guns.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Knives that's cool, yeah, exactly, dolls.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You can drink the road and I'm buying a shot.
So what's your road snack? What do you get?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
You know, I got a sweet too always things that
you would never touch like in real life.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Oh we yeah, you know me, I got a sweet tooth.
So that basically means is I get like rare to
me gummy worms. I'm like, I've never tried, and I
get those or then like I'll get like not only
just thoughts. I'm always been like a bunch of always
and chocolate eat it all at the same time.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Like I'm kind of like like, yeah, a bad diet,
pre diabetic.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
I get with. I get with the corn nuts.
Speaker 6 (06:11):
You like all those savor.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Things filled with cheese stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Oh yeah, the yeah, the cones, the combos combos. There
you go.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, absolutely, I'm in the car.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Like if hot pocket was a smaller snack.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, it's so good and so bad.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Anyway, So I wrote a novel about an epic that you.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Did, a really good one called Drift. I recommend it
to everybody here.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I am not celebrating the road trip. I know, I
take it all back. I want to go on a
road trip.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
But by the way, just how long could you be
if we were to say, drive somewhere five hours six hours?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I like five six is a good sweet spot, Like
when I've driven across country have done eight hours, and that's.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Just like I've done that with you. I know too much.
I'm like twelve, You're like, I will tell you hell no,
I would jump from this car of leisurely thing it's smart.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I'd never traveled like that. It's pretty took like, how
long two weeks? How long did drive across country?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Days? But we did eight hours. Yeah, we could have gone,
you know, shorter drives each day and it would have
been better. Two weeks. Fine, whatever, it's time to a pig. Okay.
So anyway, in my book, the protagonist stops at a
rest stop, a gas station on the grape Vine And
(07:28):
for the uninitiated, that's technically the Teyhone Pass.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yes, it's a mountain separating La from the valley.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yes, so it's that stretch of Interstate five between the
Central Valley between and you know, connects Central Value, Southern California,
cuts right through the Tahatchepee Mountains. There, stops there, Gorman.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Are fine as I've broken down, and Mini and Bec yeah, Lebec,
I know Gorman and Lebec.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I'm front down and lots of truck stops, t hone,
passed home pass, motels, fast food, gas station like that.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It's come along a lot. Yeah, break down, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Yeah, totally. When we were like, oh, Tuble goes by
and there's like a cow skill. I want to focus
on Libec right now. Though, this is so not a
place that one checks out on Google street View and
immediately adds to the best visit. Yes I did. I
mean I've been there, right, But you know what, God bless,
(08:23):
I wish the place is even the best. But as
I went to go Google street View and I was like,
I was like, this is so much different than my
normal Google street View for these things.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Do you know where it gets its name A Frenchman?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, player, there was a dude Peter le Bec and
it was spelled with like the qi on the end.
He was a French Canadian trapper in the early eighteen
hundreds who made his way down to.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Alta, California.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Then, yeah, he was what was he trapping Ralizabeth, Nauga,
prized for their high be No, it looks like he
was after.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Bears, grizzly grizzly.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
So he caught sight of one in the area that
now holds his name, and he gave chase and he
shot it under a valley oke and the bear's dying
act was to maul and kill him. He's oh, you
got me, come over, come look at this boon to.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
The family, so hard at your ancestors.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It's well he.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Did shoot the bear. If you shoot the bear, he
may shoot back exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
He and the bear were buried at the foot of
the tree. Yeah, by whom I don't know, the locals,
the local tribe, whoever it was, cut back some of
the bark on that valley oke and carved Peter Lebec
l E. B. E c K Killed by an ex
(09:51):
bear October O c.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
T r.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Seventeen, eighteen thirty seven on the bear spot. They cart
the and as the years passed, the bark of the
tree grew up over the carving. And then some fifty
or so years later a group came upon the carving
all covered up. They preserved it, and then they reburied
Lebeck and the bear wow into like real. And then
(10:16):
in nineteen seventy two friends of the show e Clampus Vitis,
Oh the Clampers, they put up a plaque reading Peter
Lebeck killed by a bear, October seventeenth, eighteen thirty seven,
in memory of a pioneer of whom only conjecture can speak.
Dedicated October fourteenth, nineteen seventy two. Eclampus Vitas Peter Lebeck,
(10:38):
Chapter eighteen sixty six. So the Peter leb Bec chapter.
The Bear No, the Peter Lebec chapter is the one
for Kerrn County, and their website is almost as good
as ours.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Really, it's yeah, they.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Got way more content. We once got an invite to
a Clamper event, but I don't know whatever happened with that.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Happened.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I think I really do want to go to one.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
I do doo. So we got a second invitement for.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Listening Saren and I want to go to one of
your events, like we could turn it into an episode.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
We love history and I drink Yeah there it.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Is perfect Lebec. So there's a Flying J truck stop
in Lebec.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Oh, Flying Jo.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
That is a good solid truck stop. They're usually cleaned
and they got a lot of stacks.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Second is Travel Centers of America.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, put a pin in the Flying
J for right now. Sure remember it. I'm going to
take you up the coast to San Mateo, California, located
south of San Francisco on the peninsula of the San
Francisco Bay. It was there that the International Gem and
Jewelry Show aka inter gem In Corporated GYM was held
(11:49):
at the San Mateo County Events Center in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I do love a gem and stone show now, Jemmy
and jewelry. I don't know a.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Gem and stone show at a county fair ground.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
That's that's ideal.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It's like some good.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Stuff right day.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Inter Gem is America's longest running direct to consumer jewelry show.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
You do?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Do You learned that from QVC.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
I already knew it. That was that general. I don't
have to cite it.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
You tell people that.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I don't have to cight it because everyone just telling
me the sky is blue like whatever. Started in nineteen
sixty seven. Of course, it's also the largest exhibition of gems,
minerals and jewelry in the world.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I was just telling you that the other day. I
can do it too.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It's good jewelry stores, designers, brokers, they all do like
a solid amount of business there.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Okay, all right, So there's like their big dog events.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
It's supposed to be deal City Deal. So you go there.
It's like deal bottom price ready for deal visitors. They
is there in visitors shop directly from manufacturers, really wholesalers
and design wholesalers direct to me. They sell jewelry loose gemstones, pearls, watches,
antique in the stage, jewelry supplies, chains, charms, accessories, and zeron,
(13:04):
so much more.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Did you find this on an AM radio station?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I just became like, this is something that like my
grand you know, retired, maybe love to just poke around
and go to random sun and eight years old and
you and the two of you.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
You're going together. We get an air force. I got
an air show there.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Sometimes sometimes there are special exhibits at these stuff like
famous people's jewelry.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Oh yeah, like Liberaci's rocks, Liberaci stones.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
You get the picture. Yeah you did. So they're having
one of those shows in July twenty twenty two and
San Mateo.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Okay, twenty twenty two, and then a couple.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Of days later it was moving down the road to
Pasadena in southern California, in the southland, southern California.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Their next big stop.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Yeah, so rocks get from to get from San Mateo
to Pasadena to you know, bedroom communities, most folks would
take Interstate five five or as you southlander Angelino.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Say the five because that's what it is.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah, anywhere south Freeways.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Were born in southern California, sorry, south of.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
The midpoint in the state. It's the five. We call
it five.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Yes, because it's much better to name highways and freeways
after what they do and where they go.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
So that we're in state five High five. That's what
they call it. Sacramento.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Those cakes up in San Mateo sixteen of the jewelers
and dealers. They loaded seventy three orange heavy duty bags,
each weighing about one hundred pounds into a Brinx tractor.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Trailer trucks has tractor truck, Yeah, big.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Boy, like a long daddy. Not one of the armored trucks.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Oh it's not an armored Is it armored itself?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
No?
Speaker 3 (14:48):
No?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Interesting?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
What was in the bags?
Speaker 3 (14:51):
What's in the bags? What's in the bags?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
They they had sparkling gems, loose diamonds, no loose slu
Rolex watches, the works, baby, one of a kind, dazzler's
you name it, You name it. Arnold Duke, head of
the International Gem and Jewelry Show, said of the Hall quote,
(15:14):
the sheer quantity of gems and jewelry wouldn't fit in
one car. My question is, what about a super room.
There's a lot of headrooms. Did you try it? Arnold duke.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Yeah, I don't think. He don't speak so speaks for itself.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
He did not try, He didn't try and shove all
that in the subie. At these shows, there are always
like public address announcements reminding people to tell security if
they see something fishy.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
S something, say something exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
So the show's manager. Yeah, Brandy Swanson, she actually chased
a guy down.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Really. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
He was wearing a surgical mask and an ear piece.
It's twenty twenty two, so he's asking out of the ordinary.
And he'd been sitting on this folding chair at the
X Center, just watching everyone pack up, like the show
was over and the public had all left. He's kind
of like an.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Air about it. And from a folding chair.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You brought a chair because his legs get tired.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, I know. He's waiting for his dad to pick
him up.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
She walks up to him, She's like, what are you
all about? And he was like, I don't speak English.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
You're doing a great job a.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Lot when I don't want to talk to strangers, perfect accent,
and they're just like, oh, they ask you something, Oh
I don't speak English.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Oh you don't, it's too bad, And I walk away
I'm gullible.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah no, I just told that. Does it work?
Speaker 3 (16:38):
What do people say when you say that?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
They just kind of stare at me, and I'm just
I'm gone, baby, I'm already walking.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
If they're like, will you sign this petition? I don't
speak English or I don't live here anyway.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
I got to try to live your lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
You really should walk.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Wearing shirts of Pablo Escobar. People think you notice that.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I see you've got your publish shirt.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Yeah, come through ridiculous crime.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
So Brandy she got the guy kicked out. He grabbed
it girl, he grabbed his chair, and then she watched
him meet up with another guy in a surgical mask,
and the two of them scurried off.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
So she told some of the Brinks she's chasing his
para doctors.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
They're on their way to the r But she tells
the Brinks people like, it's not a big deal. That's
what Brandy says happened. Brinks is like, she never told
us anything. I'm signed with Brandon. So there was another
dealer who went outside to get some air because I mean,
like your head is swimming. After the dazzling Gems saw
a car with blacked out windows, including the windshield and
(17:42):
no plates. I see those all the time on five eighties.
So whatever. The dealer tried to snap a picture of
it on his phone, but the car peeled out and
it was too late. Suspicious, but so then the security
at the facility they also had to run in. They
found a whole other guy with an earpiece, sunglasses and
a ball cap. Not a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi.
Oh that's what I was milling around outside looking at
(18:04):
the loading dock security. It was like, get moving. He
jumped into a Dodge Charger and took off, and the
security guard managed to get a photo of the car.
And I must say that if you drive a Dodge Charger,
you're either up to no good or you need to
get back on base before you leave expires. Zaren have
you seen my broad brush? It's suppressive. The truck gets
(18:25):
all loaded up, heads out. This was a tractor trailer,
like I said, not an armored car. How was it secured?
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I'm just I'm so curious.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
How well is one padlock? Oh and a plastic security
seal on the back doors?
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Are you kidding now? Like a loaded Jordan's.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yes, yes, So the truck had two drivers, James Baby
and Tandy Motley. And the truck. You know, while that
wasn't armored, James and Tandy they were armed. So this
is July tenth, late afternoon, early evening. The destination was
the Brink storage yard around three hundred and seventy miles
south in Los Angeles. All right, let's stop for some
(19:03):
ADS's make us some money. Yeah, we have to save
the Community Centers erin.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Totally when we get back, save this flying jay.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
More when we get back, zaren.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Okay, So James and James and this giant peach ak
they got they they hop in the truck. You're heading
from San Mateo.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
To Pasadena, La Pasadena.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Three yeah, three hundred and seventy miles south. I guess
it's La because the show's in Pasadena. But they're going
to like a warehouse.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
So during the during the loadout, James and Tandy they
noticed some dudes watching them, Like, did the guys just
like to watch him work and stretch them glues? Tandy
wasn't sure, so he goes over to Brandy. He goes
to Brandy. He says, Brandy, you're a fine girl. What
a good wife you'll be. But my life, my love,
and my lady's the sea.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
I understand it completely, and so could say that.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
No, he said, Brandy, I don't like the looks of
those guys. She's like, you know what, I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
A fine girl, let me tell you.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
But then he's like, this is great, we've established we
don't like that. But we got to get on the
road by and like drive away. And then Brandy did
that armpole thing and they hot the horn at her. So,
in compliance with Department of Transportation regulations, James he went
to sleep as soon as they left. Rude. I hate
(20:44):
when I'm driving a long distance and my passenger falls asleep.
Really cheeses me off. But I guess the FEDS want
them to do this so that one is always well rested. Yes, so, James,
he just climbed into the truck's sleeping berth and had
himself a snooze cruise. Yeah, so, according to Ports, still
out making into a cozy zone.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Yeah, put you know, like.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
A little crouchet blank his grandma made him.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah, according to Little Dog Ports. The truck pulled in
for a stop a little after midnight at the button
Willow Rest Areack Button Willow Man, We've all been there.
Tandy had to use a little boys room okay, the commode,
and that was around one am. And they stopped again
(21:30):
at two oh five, this time in La bec. I
call foul on the timing, since fifty four miles down
five from Button Willow to La Beet.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
That doesn't Work's a big old truck.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
It's not like a supercar.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Yeah, that's just doesn't work out. Even though I drive
like a hundred. That doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
All of the timing and the court documents was a mess,
and it makes me wonder what they're covering up Zarin.
What are the ranks using new technologies the government doesn't
want us to know about.
Speaker 6 (21:55):
That's my question, only logical to the national security apparatus,
but I think they usually have this point pretty good geolocators,
so you'll be.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Able to I really think that there's some teletransportation going
on and they don't want us to know stuff they
don't want you to know. Yeah, teleporting. Anyway, it's two five,
and for whatever reason they stopped again.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Okay, three oh five would work, but not to.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Let's say it was five. I think that they got.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Was this a day with one of those fallbacks bring
forward days? You know what, the time you got an
extra hour? This is July right.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Here's what I think happened. I think that like the
drivers misspoke and then it got picked up in news stories.
And I don't think they were looking at like official still,
and I think that they left a little earlier than
they said they did. Anyway, So we've we've tracked James
and Tandy as they cruised the highways of California. If
(22:58):
you are from the bear La, as we said, you
know this drive very well, very very well. I can
picture the whole thing like I see me doing ninety
down five. It's just as begs for you. Gotta let
that pony run, nothing but scrub and cattle and the
aqueduct around you. Sound asleep in the past, you see
(23:18):
fuming and like muttering curses that in Tesla doing sixty
in the left lane.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
I'm staying fresh in case I have to.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Drive federal regulation. We've all been there, and now you're
there there. I want you to bigger it. It's two
five am on July eleventh, twenty two. You are a
(23:46):
small teenage boy sitting cross legged on top of a
garbage can, at the gas pumps at the Flying Jay
in Lebeca, California. You aren't really a small teenage boy.
You're a soul on a mission. You've lived thousands of
lives over thousands of years, witness hundreds of events, beautiful moments,
unspeakable tragedies, explosions of joy, low points of humanity. You
(24:09):
close your eyes as a dancer spared by Djengis Khan
after his sack of Sammarcan in twelve twenty, and you
just open them as a young teen and an Afi shirt,
dirty cargo shorts perched atop a garbage can in this
strange wasteland. You're facing the Flying Jay truck stop. It's
well lit, but that light doesn't do much to penetrate
(24:30):
the dim edges of the truck lot. It's asphalt giving
way to dry grass and the rolling hills beyond. Attached
to the Flying Jay is a Denny's. It too, is
brightly lit, a beacon to weary and hungry travelers. You
hear a rumble and watch as a large tractor trailer
truck enters the lot and parks to the side. It's unmarked,
just plain white as the engine cuts and begins to
(24:52):
click and hiss in the warm night. The driver gets out.
He's bearded sturdy. He stretches his back and heads toward
the Flying Jay. You can see into the Flying j
and watch as he goes to stand in line at
one of the food counters. And something catches your eye movement.
A black car with blacked out windows slowly rolls up
(25:13):
behind the truck. You can sense that this is not right.
The evil and ill intent just hums off the car.
You stay seated watching Two men hop nimbly from the
car and make quick work of a padlock and plastic
seal on the back of the trailer. Each tumble to
the blacktop and skid away one by one. Gently. One
(25:33):
man opens the back of the truck. You see piles
and piles of orange bags. The men look at each
other for a moment. Then one runs to the back
of their car and pops the trunk. The other hops
into the trailer and struggles to lift a bag. They
whisper back and forth a bit, and then the one
in the truck gingerly begins to lift bags, handing them
down to his accomplice. At first he puts the bags
(25:54):
in the trunk, but he soon runs out of room.
He opens the back passenger door and starts tossing bags
into the backs. Twenty minutes goes by. The men have
run out of room in their car. You watched them
transfer twenty four bags from the truck to their car.
They hop into their ride and screech out, their tires
gripping the hot tarmac. A few minutes go by, and
(26:15):
you see the truck's driver return fountain, soda and bag
of food in hand. The smell of the grease wafts
your way, and you close your eyes while inhaling the scent.
You don't remember the last time you ate. When you
open your eyes, you see nothing but blue sky. It's midday.
You're on your back. You hear hooves on dirt, the
snort of horses. You're suddenly tipped upright, and you see
(26:37):
that you're in a wagon. You're on a woman's lap.
You're a baby. You wear bright embroidered fabrics. Those around
you speak a language you haven't heard. A new life
for you zerin and you won't find out what happened
if that truck's.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Not damn, that's I mean.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
I love the time tripping that was awesome. The kid
got killed in the parking lot.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
No, no, he closed does it? He ate his size
and he vanishes, he goes somewhere else.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Is just a new spirit somewhere else, But it's something
like reincarnation, which would imply.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
He doesn't necessitated.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Blinks to reply, he's a soul.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Yeah, he's a soul hopper. I love that. The sammar
can you have me there? Like, hey, my boy.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
So you little boy time traveler. You may not know
what's going to happen. We we find out what happens
or what went down. So Tandy, as we said, got
out to get somebody.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Sure he was famished, but the other driver stayed in
the car.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Snooze cise dudes roll up, stole twenty four bags of loot.
Tandy came back out, saw the security tag on the ground.
Apparently the thieves took the lock with him, and so
Tandy like bangs on the side of the truck, wakes James.
He hops out, apparently a.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Deep sleeper because that thing that the trailer had to
be rocking when they hop in the bag. They're moving
stuff and there's multiple men hopping up and down.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Like a face mass. Very noise canceling headphones and like
aromatherapy reeks of lavender in the sleeping cabin. So they
like they open up the bag and they're fearing the worst,
and it was bad. The thieves had taken bags from
the front of the trailer, which is where they had
put the higher value stuff. Oh yeah, they didn't just
(28:20):
take the bags of beads door. So and it looked
like that they had seen the thieves had seen it
get low. So the drivers they call the cops. LA
Sheriff's deputies show up because they're just inside. Wow. Yeah,
there's bodycam footage available on Daily Mail. Their answers to
the cops questions are kind of all over the place,
(28:41):
Like they got the timing screwed up in some of
the retellings, and they tried to estimate the amount of
jewelry in the bags, but that's not really their business.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Yeah, I mean, it seems like an inside job.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Well, they got confused about some of the markings on
the bag. The whole thing's messy, Like they're rattled. Yeah,
and you know, they know they're hauling a lot of value.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I mean, they're probably an to get fired.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
They know they're going to be scrutinized the few days. Yeah,
and then there's got to be that feeling of like
literally dodging a bullet because it was like a sneaky
heist and not at the end of a barrel of
a gun, so they didn't get got and maybe there's
like the adrenaline of that.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
I thought maybe those guys were anywhere knows.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Pepper, Yeah, so he needed some Like Carlstenior, there wasn't
any CCTV coverage in the area of the lot where
they were parked, which is that's also I'm also wondering
about the footage from other big rigs because like in
the bodycam footage, the guy who's in the truck park
next to the Brinks rig comes out and it's like,
what's going on off sir and the cops. Like anyone
(29:46):
I think who spends a lot of time on the
road these days seems to have dash.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Cam, yes, especially hauling anything worthwhile or.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
That you have to prove that you weren't tru But
so we just know that flying j didn't cover that
part of the lot that maybe it scares away the lizards.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
They don't want to know what goes on over there.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
You no A witness at the Flying j said that
he heard some of the guys speaking in a language
other than English to each other, and he was like,
it wasn't Spanish, because I would recognize that it was
something else. He was probably all, they didn't say gelopa,
no pepper or buenos dias, so it's not Spanish. They
didn't mention the biblioteca. So James and Tandy may have
(30:32):
seemed kind of hanky, but they weren't sending up major
red flags when when they kind of investigators looked into
their lives or like these dud.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
There's no weird bank accounts. Stand they're just kind of incompetent,
Like you said, families.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Like the slow He yeah, as you said, it did
have the feel of an inside job though.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Right he does.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
I mean all the all the facts, I mean, just
the fact that they stopped and they did and where
they did.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
There were thoughts that maybe someone at Brinks tipped off
thieves as to the route. Sure, Tandy told the cops
at the Flying Jay that maybe he was followed and
it could have been thieves working on behalf of one
of the jewelers running an.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
Insurance Oh whoa, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Slow down their Columbos road and let the pros look
into that.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yeah right, He's like, then it's going to insurance fraud.
From one of the fellow gymologists, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
WHOA, Like, Tandy, you need to take a nap. So
Brinks said that about eight point seven million dollars worth
of goods had been stolen. Some of the jewelers and
the dealers who lost their stuff sued Brinks. I mean
the truck only had a padlock on it. Here's the problem.
So Brink said it was eight point seven million, and
the jewelers supported that in their initial paperwork, but in
(31:46):
depositions a bunch of them admitted that they very often
low balled the reported value to keep their insurance costs
down on shipping. What yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
They I would rather make less on a on a
theft get paid back so they can make more down
the line.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
It is estimated the actual value of everything stolen was
around one hundred million dollars.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
What, yes, that's not that's not lowbill. That everything that
was lying.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
And that's not everything that was in the truck. That's
it makes it one of the largest jewelry thefts in
modern American history.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
One of the largest American pieces.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
That they've shown pictures of are pretty impressive. Others, I
think maybe it's for the best that they're gone.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Really, yeah, they're kind of.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
No Brinks filed the countersuit. They wanted to limit the
payout to only yes, sue me, sue you. They want
they're like, look, you declared a value of eight point
seven million. That's that's what we're paying. And they're like,
you lied, that's a breach of.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Contract, that's fraud.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah, so there's no way around it. Though. The heist
destroyed some people in their businesses did yeah. In a
statement upon filing suit, the plaintiff said, quote, everyone in
our group has and emotionally and financially destroyed. We are
lost and do not know what comes next in our lives.
Whatever plans we all have for the future for our
businesses and our families has evaporated in an instant.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
So that sucks for.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Them, seriously. In their laws. Are the jewelers there and
they're all small.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Fanis imagine independent jewelers.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, it's not.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
You see it all together with their cases in like
a downtown yes, like plaza.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
It's not every kid jewelers. Yeah, so they were looking
for one hundred million dollars in damages and one hundred
million in restitution from Brains. And they said that it
was a Brinx employee who told them to undervalue the
merch in their pickup manifest quote in order to save
money because the cost of shipping would be too expensive
if they declared the full value of their goods. According
(33:49):
to CNN.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
And do they do they name this employee? Imagine you
kind of have to have that person.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
I think there are a lot of them, said, so
I think they're different.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
They're saying they were getting it.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Oh, so that was kind of like.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
It's like a common snake industry. So CNN. Quote. One
merchant told CNN thirty years of his life's work was
stolen in the heist. He didn't share his name nor
the name of his businesses with CNN over concerns of
being targeted again. He expressed that he was quote emotional
and speechless and wants quote brings to answer to him
after losing some collectibles and unique pieces in the theft.
(34:22):
So you think about it, it's twenty twenty two. COVID
had done a serious number on retail. People got comfortable
buying online. They didn't really want to come back from that.
Jewelry is generally something that you want to buy in person.
But it was still a struggle for brick and mortar.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
And then yeah, these dealers and the jewelers, they go
to the expo. They're hoping to make these sales, keep
the businesses going.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
To pay their rent back home.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Uh. People go to the expos to try and get
a good deal on the stuff. So there aren't like
high rollers in the sense that they'll pay top dollar.
The whole thing's kind of hard scrabble for these guys,
and now it's gone. So according to the La Times, quote,
one of the victims, Malki of forty seventh and fifth Incorporated,
said that telling his children about the theft was the
toughest thing he'd ever done. Quote. They always looked at me.
(35:08):
I'm their hero, I'm the tough guy. I didn't want
to break that image for them, so I told them
everything's going to be okay, but for now we're going
to have to make some changes. Inside. I was torn
apart and devastated. The article goes on. Malki gave The
Times an interview over lunch in Pasadena and kept his
composure throughout the meeting until he detailed the conversation he'd
(35:29):
had about the theft with his children. Malki struggled to
contain his emotions as he shared his seven year old
daughter's attempt to cheer him up after his disclosure of
the crime. Quote she said, Dad, don't worry, I'm gonna
have a lemonade stand. She gave me the biggest hug.
Speaker 4 (35:44):
Oh man, I know I've dealt with a bunch of
these people because I've sold and been with people to
recommend and go through the process with them selling loose diamonds.
Speaker 3 (35:55):
And they are not with people picture you know what
I mean. You know, they're very usually family men, family
women who've been running a business, working with often their
husband or wife.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah, they're not flashy. Yeah, And we've talked about this before,
like how we tell these stories. But there are victims
on the other end of things, and that's you know
why we like weed smugglers and those who steal from
the violently.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Well, yeah, it's easier to write because like.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
No one's losing their life savings, no.
Speaker 5 (36:21):
One's destroyed, they're just embarrassed.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Well not here. Yeah, people lost their livelihoods here. So
the detail of the stolen inventory is just staggering. One
guy lost more than thirteen hundred items that he'd put
together over decades worth at least like twelve million dollars,
and of course he admitted that he only shired it
at a value of four hundred thousand dollars. Oh yeah,
(36:44):
let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll hear more
from these devastated jewelers. And then we've got a little
bit of a twist. Nice zaren Okay, So we took
(37:14):
a little break. There more of these jewelers and designers.
There's one an eighty three year old woman, Amy Kit
sing Lung. She operated Hawaiian Designs jewelry, and she said
that her business was totally gone after losing seven hundred
thousand dollars worth of stuff. And she said that it
(37:34):
was only you know, in the manifest, she said it
was only worth four hundred thousand because anything else would
be too expensive to ship. And what's worse is that
she was selling and shipping for others.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Oh, she's now in the hook.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Yeah, because she's eighty three. All these other older vendors
and those who had like compromised immune systems who didn't
want to go get exposed to COVID. Oh, they couldn't
be at the show, so now their stuff's gone to Yeah,
so three of the fourteen plaintiffs in the suit settled
with Brinks. No word on for how much. Some wound
up suing Flying J too. They said that there'd been
(38:08):
a bunch of thefts at that location and they should
have had better security, but yet reasonable. Well, February of
twenty twenty four, a judge ruled that the examples presented
by the jewelers of thefts at that particular Flying J
weren't like what happened with the Brinx truck. So there's
no way for Flying J to anticipate such a thing.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
Okay, this is one of those you have to exhibit
exercise control kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
So you know, I mean, they could have had better
camera setups whatever, But I mean especially because like think
about the amount of merchandise and goods that sits in
that lot at any young time, like trailers full of
like electronics, old navy fashions, jelly sandals.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
You'll be breaking in.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Vape cartridges, holiday buntings, decorative figurines, closed soap. Yeah, Zarin,
there's no telling what's in those trucks.
Speaker 5 (39:00):
Diapers given time.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Dipies go on the streets. Yeah, oh, they done so
either way, eggs, eggs. The jewelers, those jewelers are devastated.
Some of them closed their business, others struggled along. And
it seemed to be just an unfortunate and brazen crime
now in the past. But then just recently something changed changed, Sarain.
(39:26):
We've had this wild ride together with this. It's one
of the biggest jewelry heights in US history, right here
in the Golden State. Can I tell you something though
justice never sleeps, does it not? Does not? I am
happy to report that on Tuesday, June seventeenth, twenty twenty
five years after the US Attorney Central District of California
(39:47):
unsealed an indictment. The day before June sixteenth, they'd executed
a search warrant and had made arrests in the case
the idea of the Brinx truck heist at the Flying.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
Jay Whoa, they stayed and.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
It turns out it was a crew that had been
planning this for some time, like practicing their highest pulling out.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Yeah, I curious huh, that.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
Happened like just a few days ago, back in a
time when we were recording this. So we just have
the arrest. At some point in the future, will get
a flurry of emails and dms telling us about the
court case and the sentencing er acquittal all. Give an
update then, and then we'll continue to get Instagram d
ms about the results of the case for the next
year or so, even after I give the updates such as.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Life, Such is life. I was really hoping that the
CHP was playing a prominent role on the bus. I
love the HP. I know you do.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
You really do.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
We have to talk about that. I respect them, you
love them.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
I do love them. I've been totally like treated poorly
by the sage.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
That's why we're talking about you should not love people
who treat you so poorly. I respect them. You can
respect people who it's a different level. You got to
stop licking them when you're around.
Speaker 3 (40:59):
That's where I have to apologize. Got a condition, It's.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Okay, yeh, And I'm like, no leaky, leaky. Prosecutors alleged
that there are seven co conspirators who carried out the
theft Sven. Yeah, the men were each charged with conspiracy
to commit theft from interstate Inflorence shipment.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
Could you repeat that more time?
Speaker 2 (41:19):
It was conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment.
I got you so nice, I named it twice. Some
are facing additional charges. Who are they?
Speaker 3 (41:29):
I just about asked? Do we ever get to the
I could list their names their name, but you won't.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
But they've only been indicted, not like convicted.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
You don't want to.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
I don't want to put their names out there. If
you're so inclined and you have too much time on
your hands, you can go ahead and get to googling.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
Do we know where? Ruffian? Where they come from?
Speaker 2 (41:45):
This is exactly what I'm going to tell you, so
thank you. I will say that they're all men, okay,
and I'm going to give you their ages and their
cities of residence. Ah Okay, So thirty one years old,
Pasadenak thirty six years old, Boyle Heights, currently an inmate
in Arizona State Prison. Okay forty one years old out
of rialto.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
Okay, I'm going with Hispanic.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
So far sixty out of Rampart Village neighborhood, Heights thirty
three out of South La.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
Okay forty two.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Forty two coming out of Uplands Oppland, Okay, and thirty
six of the Westlake.
Speaker 5 (42:18):
Neighborhood of La Wow like Toronto's.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
So I will say that if the witness at the
truck stop did actually see some of them there and
heard them talking, then he was wrong about it not
being Spanish that they.
Speaker 3 (42:30):
Spoke, yes, because it does certainly seem.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
They didn't say gilapino popper. You know as well as
I that there are many dialects of Spanish.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
Suns, and like I couldn't even in countries like I
learned in Colombian, I could start picking up party accents
and be like, oh, you're from Medaine.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Tell, And I couldn't tell from their last names. If
there was a specific shared country of origin, might be
the United States, to be honest, Texas, But Mexican Spanish
different places is a lot different than Spain Spanish, which
is different than Colombian Spanish, Cuban Spanish Spanish.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
It's crazy, and each of these they.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Got their own slaying idioms anyway, back to the purpse.
So if convicted, five of them got would get steeper
charges and could face up to twenty years in federal
prison for each robbery charge. All the defendants could be
looking to at least five years for the theft conspiracy
charge and then ten for the thefts quote. It was
(43:23):
a long time coming, and there were times when the
victims and members of the team wondered whether we see
this success. That's an Assistant US Attorney Kevin Butler talking.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
So what happens with restitution and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
Like I don't even think they touch on that.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
Yeah, but I mean, like, is there any hope that
not that they'll recover the gen sell them.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
Some of the stolen jewelry was recovered during the searches. Yeah,
and I feel like maybe they held onto the watches.
That's just conjecture on my part. Liked it, Yeah, but
I think it's great that they were able to get
some of the stuff. Three years on, the Feds also
found a bunch of cash, so there was like fencing
going on. Most of the stolen goods are still missing,
(44:03):
but there's still more search.
Speaker 5 (44:04):
Warrants to execute.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Sure, I believe it may find more stuff. I believe
that will find more people.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
May they might find the tackier pieces they couldn't move. Yeah,
So the crews planning for the heist allegedly started at
the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo, Tucson.
So allegedly the main guy case the show for days
starting on July eighth, the guy with the chair, yeah,
(44:30):
twenty twenty two. July eighth, he found out where they
were going. Next, he watched the comings and goings. He
checked out the wars. July tenth, three other guys allegedly
cased the Brinx truck. When the truck left San Mateo,
it began what the FEDS were calling, quote a complex
choreography that ended up in lbec.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
Very fast and furious. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
So there were different cars following the truck, taking turns,
getting one to like subtly follow the load. Because the
drivers when they were talking to the deputy showed.
Speaker 3 (45:00):
There's the headlights. If it's just the same headlights chasing
around five.
Speaker 2 (45:03):
You're always gonna you can go a long way with
like someone right behind you.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
Something as if you get off, they get off, you
get off, the get off.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
I mean that would be weird, right, And so the
guy the when he talked to the deputies Tandy, when
he was like, I don't think we were followed. I
didn't see anybody.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
So they were running rounds on them.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
And so they're like they're coming on and off summer
stationed down the highway waiting for their turn to hop
on tail the truck. They would call each other keep
tabs like this, like mobile logistics operation. Oh, it doesn't
say in the court filing how the crew gained access
to the trailer. Yeah, I'm guessing like bolt cutters are
like a grinder. Which even then, so if they had
(45:40):
a grinder, like James, she didn't wake up. Yeah, and
I think a grinder waking up, I think it's It
doesn't mention if they're armed either.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
So anyway, locks are not difficult if it's just like no.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
No, Yeah, they broke into the truck.
Speaker 3 (45:52):
You have a little liquid oxygen and break that right open.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
And they emptied the bags into the car. And then
the indictment says that they drove to East Hollywood and
apparently they had no idea how much stuff they'd gained.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Are you for real? They it just got lucky.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
They got was a major score. They had no idea.
So they're just opening these bags being like, oh my god, if.
Speaker 3 (46:13):
You did a crime that was so good that you
have to leave your life.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Well, in the days afterwards, a bunch of them start
deactivating their cell phone numbers.
Speaker 3 (46:22):
The best thing you could do is leave the country.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
Yeah, they must have been so spooked by this.
Speaker 4 (46:27):
Go to a little ranch in some place that speaks
the language you speak and nobody.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
They didn't. Though they didn't. This wasn't their first heist though.
Apparently in the months leading up to the back heist,
a bunch of the crew members pulled off a series
of thefts all across.
Speaker 5 (46:41):
San Bernardino County.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
So in some of those cases, the mos No, it's
pretty much the same, like they would case and follow
truck stops. Yeah, they went to truck stops similar places
they would quote identify and rob steele, unlawfully take and
unlawfully carry away a variety of merchandise. So, according to
the indictment, yeah, they used multiple vehicles to follow trucks
(47:03):
carrying shipments of electronics and other items until they would
reach a stopping point, and then the alleged thieves would
like rob or burgle the vehicles. Some would allegedly being
very careful here, act as lookouts around businesses where the
trucks were parked. Others just did straight up smash and
grabs like bippins, and they'd had back to La, split
(47:23):
up the goods, fence them with trusted connections.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
My pain a couple of guys who did this.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
And he did any of them. I should have listed
the names.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
No, it's a common form of pirracy. Yeah, yeah so it.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
March second, twenty twenty two months before the Lebeck heist,
prosecutors said that members of the crew used multiple vehicles
to follow a truck carrying Samsung electronics from Ontario, California.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
Oh yeah, so when.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
The vehicle stopped at a store in Ontario, crew members
allegedly distracted the driver in the shop while some in
the group stole the electronics. And I would love to
know how they distracted the driver. Was like raise their
skirt and show like a fish netted cat.
Speaker 3 (48:05):
They did a mime show with balloons.
Speaker 2 (48:07):
Yeah, they were like someone like trips and falls and
spills chocolate milk all over the floor and they're staring,
comes to help and cries, just starts crying and.
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Beating up adults. That's what's going on in this town.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
That hall was worth almost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 3 (48:24):
That's much smaller. Yeah, but that's that's probably what they
normally would get.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
That's what they're thinking. Yeah, so le's.
Speaker 3 (48:31):
After that they got.
Speaker 2 (48:33):
Another box truck, and that one ironically was carrying Apple
air tags.
Speaker 3 (48:39):
A rough one. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
The driver stopped for food in Fontana and the guys
made their move. They walked away with fifty seven thousand
dollars in air tags.
Speaker 3 (48:48):
Is that a lot? Yeah? I think I don't how
much air tags?
Speaker 2 (48:50):
Like twenty five bucks? Okay, okay, Well they started to
walk away because the driver caught him. Maybe they were
air tags. So the driver caught the thieves. According to
the indictment, one who had like a small knife, allegedly yelled,
don't move or I will help you up.
Speaker 3 (49:06):
That's knife all night.
Speaker 2 (49:07):
Within the small knife. They had other failures. May twenty fifth,
twenty twenty two, A bunch of them tried to drive
to a truck stop in Fontana to steal from a truck.
They used a crowbar to break in. It took off
before they could grab anything.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
With a lock. Conversation, I guess really not that.
Speaker 2 (49:25):
Later that same day they went back to Fontana, this
time they stole more. Samsung Electronics valued it a little
more than fourteenth.
Speaker 3 (49:32):
Though good electronics. Elizabeth yeah So.
Speaker 2 (49:34):
Reached for comment. MALKI remember the jeweler, He told the
La Times the indictment was quote awesome. Quote. I don't
know what to say, he said. I'm absolutely shocked.
Speaker 3 (49:44):
He is a tough guy.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
He's a tough guy. In response to the charges, Brinks
said the statement, quote, we deeply appreciate the efforts of
law enforcement to resolve this matter. We will continue to
watch the case closely.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
Oh my god, what a nothing.
Speaker 2 (49:57):
Stay absolutely nothing statement. So that's where we are on this.
This is this is as far as this train goes. Zaren,
what's your ridiculous takeaway.
Speaker 4 (50:07):
I'm still hung up on the idea that if you
have a scored this big, it's kind of like the
plot to No Country for Old Men, where you come
along this this crazy money, you realize this life changing,
but then you also realize someone's.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
Gonna come looking for Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (50:20):
And I've got to hide from that person. And if
it's crime like they are, it's going to be either
law enforcement or fellow criminals either one. It's going to
be people who are motivated, Yeah, can find you. So
I feel bad for them in a certain way that
they did so well. They did too well, something.
Speaker 2 (50:37):
That would have worked in like the seventies.
Speaker 3 (50:39):
Yes, without so much.
Speaker 2 (50:41):
There's so much technology where you can track them and
like cameras, so we don't know based on these search horms.
We don't know what like dash cam footage they had,
you know with the jewelry. Now they do like microscopic lasers.
Speaker 3 (50:56):
Yeah, then grave.
Speaker 2 (50:57):
Engraving on stuff that you can.
Speaker 3 (50:59):
Track holographic marks that are like.
Speaker 2 (51:03):
Yeah, So it's like there, there's it's so hard to
get away with this kind of thing, and we leave
a digital footprint everywhere we go. So anyway, I really
do want to get a burner phone. I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (51:17):
Yeah, I know you want to get a flip phone
or burner phone. Away, Elizabeth.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
My takeaway is that I saw that it's it's interesting
to tell a story like this where I was looking
at it. I've been like kind of looking at it
for a bit of this is a good story, but
like it wasn't fully enough, and then all of a
sudden these arrests came in. I was like I pounced
on it. Like I can't.
Speaker 3 (51:41):
They got them.
Speaker 2 (51:42):
They got them, Dave. I think we could do with
a talk bag.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
Oh my god, I want.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
My name's Ann.
Speaker 7 (52:01):
I've been listening to you since the beginning. I just
really appreciate you, guys. I must say, I am listening
to the American Beatles episode and this is probably the
most voices I have ever heard Zarin use, which is
great entertainment. Thanks for a good job, everybody, ridiculous crime staff.
(52:26):
I forgot to mention I was nine years old when
the Beatles, the British Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show.
We just thought they were kind of odd. Anyway, Thanks you.
Speaker 2 (52:46):
I love the nine year old perspective on that.
Speaker 3 (52:48):
Yeah, likes love this, but I don't know. I see
a mop haired It's just a little strange.
Speaker 2 (52:54):
That's awesome. I love that you're getting some props for
your voices.
Speaker 3 (52:57):
Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (52:58):
And I'm trying to do non offensive accents when I
do accent, so if ever, I apologize to those I've
offended in the past. And I just know that for
the most part, I try to stick to accents that
I have family connections to, like I have the genes
like if I'm doing an accent, I'm like, honestly, I'm
one of your people.
Speaker 3 (53:15):
I'm sorry, I.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
Love that, right, that's a good ethos to have.
Speaker 3 (53:20):
Can I do that? Like? I'm French too?
Speaker 2 (53:22):
Why not?
Speaker 3 (53:23):
Good at it?
Speaker 2 (53:24):
But that's it for today. You can find us online
at ridiculous Crime dot com. Did you know fun fact
about our website?
Speaker 3 (53:33):
No? I don't.
Speaker 2 (53:35):
It's on the e PA's number three why super fun site?
Speaker 3 (53:39):
Oh yeah, without you.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
We're on blue Sky and Instagram Ridiculous Crime. We're also
on YouTube Ridiculous Crime Pod, and you can email us
at ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com, leave a talk
download the free iHeart app, leave us a talkback, Please
reach out. Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and
(54:10):
Zaren Burnett, produced and edited by Dave Cousten. A Friend
in the Diamond Business starring Annals Rutger as Judith. Research
is by Vintage Rolex restorer Marissa Brown. The theme song
is by Flying J Custodians who are Disgusted with how
people treat the bathrooms Thomas Lee and Travis Dutton. Post
wardrobe is provided by Botany five hundred guest hair and
(54:31):
makeup by Sparkleshot and mister Andre. Executive producers are Turquoise Bolo,
Tie dealer Ben Bolan and toe Ring Empresario Noel Brown
Clime Say It One More Timeous Crime.
Speaker 1 (54:53):
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. Four more podcasts
my heart Radio visit the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts, wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Zara, Elizabeth, it's you, It's me, Saron Brunette.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
That's right, that's a.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Listen pal. You know it's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Yes, I do, Elizabeth. I'm glad you asked me. Cowboy hats.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, totally ridiculous on birds, super ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
So you got family in Las Vegas, I do.
Speaker 4 (00:24):
Did they ever tell you about about a little time
about five six years ago when people were seeing birds
fly around Las Vegas with cowboy hats?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
No, par did share this with me.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Apparently for a while in December of twenty nineteen, people
were noticing these.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Quote the birds have hats on bro.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
So somebody they recorded a twelve second video in a
parking lot of these birds like pecking at Dorito's, like
thrown into a parking lot, just on a normal like
seven to eleven parking lot. Yeah, but the birds were
wearing cowboy hats, tiny cowboy hats, little pigeons with tiny.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Proof.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
There is it.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
There is video proof, and the videos were shared and
enjoy to buy millions.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Well otherwise it's just's yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Now people were like, wait a minute, did he do this?
And then somebody else. Someone else pointed out that the
Wrangler National Finals rodeo was in town, and they're like,
did they do this as like a hype thing for
the rodeo. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association had to come
out and say, we had nothing to do with the
pigeons wearing cowboy hats.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Wait wait, since someone was just a vigilante, yes, as
pigeon exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police had to come out and say.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
It does not appear to be a police matter at
this time.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
The Clark County spokeswoman, they said, I have no immediate comment.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I didn't know what to do right.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Some people were worried, so like a veterinarian came in
and said, well, actually, they make a glues for animals,
and I think that they may not be it's not
obstructing their vision or their ability to eat, So I
think that the birds will be fine. Okay, because apparently
they make this like spargum for birds. I think they
think that somebody just plopped that on the pigeon's head
and propped it on there instead of using like super glue,
(02:05):
and you.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Know, they got some of that like showgirls.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Yeah, so they they look like there. It was not
that the animals were hurt, Elizabeth, I don't worrying. They
were just upgraded fashion.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Man. There you go. That's ridiculous. Do you want to
know what else is ridiculous?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Goodness?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Yeah, the grape Vine.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
No, no, this is ridiculous Crime a podcast about absurd
(02:49):
and outrageous capers. Heis and cons it's always ninety nine
percent murder free and one hundred percent ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
You heard that, right? You?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
All right? Do you pull something?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
The interns? Hold me down.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
There. You're a big road trip guy.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Oh my god. I lived for road trips. That's what
I did for my birthday last year. I took a
road trip by.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Myself, just drove across country.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
That was my gift to myself. I drove across country
all by myself.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It was awesome. Took me like five days.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
It was love pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
It's one of my favorite things to do.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I get carsick easily. Oh that's not my favorite.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Oh that totally. Did it happen even if you're driving?
That that helps.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, if I'm driving, it's not an issue. But I
also just don't like to sit for such long perme time.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Twelve hours as long as the world's moving.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
I love the concept of a road. Are parts that
I enjoy like I like going places that I've never been.
That's true, things that I may never see again.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
This is true.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
And the life I love is making music with my friends.
So that's why you get on the road again, On
the road again, but on the road again, Elizabeth, I
am band the Gypsies. We go down the highway, making friends,
best of friends, insisting in the world turning our way
and our way on the aga. Okay, So I do
(04:07):
love a good roadside stand or oh that's true.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
You you will make us pull over if I'm ever
in the car.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
They got a lot of those on the old roots.
Like strawberries you one o one from the bay to
l A. Like strawberry stands, cherries and cherries, garlic.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
You'll stop for avocado, artichokes.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, yeah, I'll bust it out for vegetables.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Will get a stop for you.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
One time, one of the best discoveries I ever had
was in an artichoke stand. I bought some seasoning called
garlic Dude dust. If you can get your hands on it,
I use it on everything anyway. I like stopping at
nice rest stops.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
That's true, like nice, what is nice?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Like that? The ones well lit, clean ones, and they've
got like every conceivable.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I like the state welcome centers. Oh yeah, you get
to the border and the first stop, those are Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
I always try to hit those.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Up me too. But I'm talking about like when you
walk into a convenience store, part of it. They've got
every snack that's ever been made, all the two thousands
about truck stops and like yeah, and then the rest
up trucks like amazing souvenirs.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Okay, yes that truck stops, those are awesome. But the
clean ones, Yeah, you've got to be clean ones.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
What's your what's your go to roads?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Also, I want them to only sell knives, not guns
a truck stop.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
I don't want guns.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Knives that's cool, yeah, exactly, dolls.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You can drink the road and I'm buying a shot.
So what's your road snack? What do you get?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
You know, I got a sweet too always things that
you would never touch like in real life.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Oh we yeah, you know me, I got a sweet tooth.
So that basically means is I get like rare to
me gummy worms. I'm like, I've never tried, and I
get those or then like I'll get like not only
just thoughts. I'm always been like a bunch of always
and chocolate eat it all at the same time.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Like I'm kind of like like, yeah, a bad diet,
pre diabetic.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
I get with. I get with the corn nuts.
Speaker 6 (06:11):
You like all those savor.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Things filled with cheese stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Oh yeah, the yeah, the cones, the combos combos. There
you go.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, absolutely, I'm in the car.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Like if hot pocket was a smaller snack.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, it's so good and so bad.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Anyway, So I wrote a novel about an epic that you.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Did, a really good one called Drift. I recommend it
to everybody here.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I am not celebrating the road trip. I know, I
take it all back. I want to go on a
road trip.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
But by the way, just how long could you be
if we were to say, drive somewhere five hours six hours?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I like five six is a good sweet spot, Like
when I've driven across country have done eight hours, and that's.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Just like I've done that with you. I know too much.
I'm like twelve, You're like, I will tell you hell no,
I would jump from this car of leisurely thing it's smart.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I'd never traveled like that. It's pretty took like, how
long two weeks? How long did drive across country?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Days? But we did eight hours. Yeah, we could have gone,
you know, shorter drives each day and it would have
been better. Two weeks. Fine, whatever, it's time to a pig. Okay.
So anyway, in my book, the protagonist stops at a
rest stop, a gas station on the grape Vine And
(07:28):
for the uninitiated, that's technically the Teyhone Pass.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yes, it's a mountain separating La from the valley.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yes, so it's that stretch of Interstate five between the
Central Valley between and you know, connects Central Value, Southern California,
cuts right through the Tahatchepee Mountains. There, stops there, Gorman.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Are fine as I've broken down, and Mini and Bec yeah, Lebec,
I know Gorman and Lebec.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I'm front down and lots of truck stops, t hone,
passed home pass, motels, fast food, gas station like that.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It's come along a lot. Yeah, break down, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Yeah, totally. When we were like, oh, Tuble goes by
and there's like a cow skill. I want to focus
on Libec right now. Though, this is so not a
place that one checks out on Google street View and
immediately adds to the best visit. Yes I did. I
mean I've been there, right, But you know what, God bless,
(08:23):
I wish the place is even the best. But as
I went to go Google street View and I was like,
I was like, this is so much different than my
normal Google street View for these things.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Do you know where it gets its name A Frenchman?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, player, there was a dude Peter le Bec and
it was spelled with like the qi on the end.
He was a French Canadian trapper in the early eighteen
hundreds who made his way down to.
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Alta, California.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Then, yeah, he was what was he trapping Ralizabeth, Nauga,
prized for their high be No, it looks like he
was after.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Bears, grizzly grizzly.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
So he caught sight of one in the area that
now holds his name, and he gave chase and he
shot it under a valley oke and the bear's dying
act was to maul and kill him. He's oh, you
got me, come over, come look at this boon to.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
The family, so hard at your ancestors.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
It's well he.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Did shoot the bear. If you shoot the bear, he
may shoot back exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
He and the bear were buried at the foot of
the tree. Yeah, by whom I don't know, the locals,
the local tribe, whoever it was, cut back some of
the bark on that valley oke and carved Peter Lebec
l E. B. E c K Killed by an ex
(09:51):
bear October O c.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
T r.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Seventeen, eighteen thirty seven on the bear spot. They cart
the and as the years passed, the bark of the
tree grew up over the carving. And then some fifty
or so years later a group came upon the carving
all covered up. They preserved it, and then they reburied
Lebeck and the bear wow into like real. And then
(10:16):
in nineteen seventy two friends of the show e Clampus Vitis,
Oh the Clampers, they put up a plaque reading Peter
Lebeck killed by a bear, October seventeenth, eighteen thirty seven,
in memory of a pioneer of whom only conjecture can speak.
Dedicated October fourteenth, nineteen seventy two. Eclampus Vitas Peter Lebeck,
(10:38):
Chapter eighteen sixty six. So the Peter leb Bec chapter.
The Bear No, the Peter Lebec chapter is the one
for Kerrn County, and their website is almost as good
as ours.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Really, it's yeah, they.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Got way more content. We once got an invite to
a Clamper event, but I don't know whatever happened with that.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Happened.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I think I really do want to go to one.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
I do doo. So we got a second invitement for.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Listening Saren and I want to go to one of
your events, like we could turn it into an episode.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
We love history and I drink Yeah there it.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Is perfect Lebec. So there's a Flying J truck stop
in Lebec.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Oh, Flying Jo.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
That is a good solid truck stop. They're usually cleaned
and they got a lot of stacks.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Second is Travel Centers of America.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, put a pin in the Flying
J for right now. Sure remember it. I'm going to
take you up the coast to San Mateo, California, located
south of San Francisco on the peninsula of the San
Francisco Bay. It was there that the International Gem and
Jewelry Show aka inter gem In Corporated GYM was held
(11:49):
at the San Mateo County Events Center in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I do love a gem and stone show now, Jemmy
and jewelry. I don't know a.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Gem and stone show at a county fair ground.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
That's that's ideal.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It's like some good.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Stuff right day.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Inter Gem is America's longest running direct to consumer jewelry show.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
You do?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Do You learned that from QVC.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
I already knew it. That was that general. I don't
have to cite it.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
You tell people that.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I don't have to cight it because everyone just telling
me the sky is blue like whatever. Started in nineteen
sixty seven. Of course, it's also the largest exhibition of gems,
minerals and jewelry in the world.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I was just telling you that the other day. I
can do it too.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It's good jewelry stores, designers, brokers, they all do like
a solid amount of business there.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Okay, all right, So there's like their big dog events.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
It's supposed to be deal City Deal. So you go there.
It's like deal bottom price ready for deal visitors. They
is there in visitors shop directly from manufacturers, really wholesalers
and design wholesalers direct to me. They sell jewelry loose gemstones, pearls, watches,
antique in the stage, jewelry supplies, chains, charms, accessories, and zeron,
(13:04):
so much more.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Did you find this on an AM radio station?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
I just became like, this is something that like my
grand you know, retired, maybe love to just poke around
and go to random sun and eight years old and
you and the two of you.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
You're going together. We get an air force. I got
an air show there.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Sometimes sometimes there are special exhibits at these stuff like
famous people's jewelry.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Oh yeah, like Liberaci's rocks, Liberaci stones.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
You get the picture. Yeah you did. So they're having
one of those shows in July twenty twenty two and
San Mateo.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Okay, twenty twenty two, and then a couple.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Of days later it was moving down the road to
Pasadena in southern California, in the southland, southern California.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Their next big stop.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Yeah, so rocks get from to get from San Mateo
to Pasadena to you know, bedroom communities, most folks would
take Interstate five five or as you southlander Angelino.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Say the five because that's what it is.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah, anywhere south Freeways.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Were born in southern California, sorry, south of.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
The midpoint in the state. It's the five. We call
it five.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Yes, because it's much better to name highways and freeways
after what they do and where they go.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
So that we're in state five High five. That's what
they call it. Sacramento.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Those cakes up in San Mateo sixteen of the jewelers
and dealers. They loaded seventy three orange heavy duty bags,
each weighing about one hundred pounds into a Brinx tractor.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Trailer trucks has tractor truck, Yeah, big.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Boy, like a long daddy. Not one of the armored trucks.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Oh it's not an armored Is it armored itself?
Speaker 2 (14:47):
No?
Speaker 3 (14:48):
No?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Interesting?
Speaker 2 (14:50):
What was in the bags?
Speaker 3 (14:51):
What's in the bags? What's in the bags?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
They they had sparkling gems, loose diamonds, no loose slu
Rolex watches, the works, baby, one of a kind, dazzler's
you name it, You name it. Arnold Duke, head of
the International Gem and Jewelry Show, said of the Hall quote,
(15:14):
the sheer quantity of gems and jewelry wouldn't fit in
one car. My question is, what about a super room.
There's a lot of headrooms. Did you try it? Arnold duke.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Yeah, I don't think. He don't speak so speaks for itself.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
He did not try, He didn't try and shove all
that in the subie. At these shows, there are always
like public address announcements reminding people to tell security if
they see something fishy.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
S something, say something exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
So the show's manager. Yeah, Brandy Swanson, she actually chased
a guy down.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Really. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
He was wearing a surgical mask and an ear piece.
It's twenty twenty two, so he's asking out of the ordinary.
And he'd been sitting on this folding chair at the
X Center, just watching everyone pack up, like the show
was over and the public had all left. He's kind
of like an.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Air about it. And from a folding chair.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You brought a chair because his legs get tired.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, I know. He's waiting for his dad to pick
him up.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
She walks up to him, She's like, what are you
all about? And he was like, I don't speak English.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
You're doing a great job a.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Lot when I don't want to talk to strangers, perfect accent,
and they're just like, oh, they ask you something, Oh
I don't speak English.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Oh you don't, it's too bad, And I walk away
I'm gullible.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah no, I just told that. Does it work?
Speaker 3 (16:38):
What do people say when you say that?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
They just kind of stare at me, and I'm just
I'm gone, baby, I'm already walking.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
If they're like, will you sign this petition? I don't
speak English or I don't live here anyway.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
I got to try to live your lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
You really should walk.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Wearing shirts of Pablo Escobar. People think you notice that.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
I see you've got your publish shirt.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Yeah, come through ridiculous crime.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
So Brandy she got the guy kicked out. He grabbed
it girl, he grabbed his chair, and then she watched
him meet up with another guy in a surgical mask,
and the two of them scurried off.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
So she told some of the Brinks she's chasing his
para doctors.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
They're on their way to the r But she tells
the Brinks people like, it's not a big deal. That's
what Brandy says happened. Brinks is like, she never told
us anything. I'm signed with Brandon. So there was another
dealer who went outside to get some air because I mean,
like your head is swimming. After the dazzling Gems saw
a car with blacked out windows, including the windshield and
(17:42):
no plates. I see those all the time on five eighties.
So whatever. The dealer tried to snap a picture of
it on his phone, but the car peeled out and
it was too late. Suspicious, but so then the security
at the facility they also had to run in. They
found a whole other guy with an earpiece, sunglasses and
a ball cap. Not a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi.
Oh that's what I was milling around outside looking at
(18:04):
the loading dock security. It was like, get moving. He
jumped into a Dodge Charger and took off, and the
security guard managed to get a photo of the car.
And I must say that if you drive a Dodge Charger,
you're either up to no good or you need to
get back on base before you leave expires. Zaren have
you seen my broad brush? It's suppressive. The truck gets
(18:25):
all loaded up, heads out. This was a tractor trailer,
like I said, not an armored car. How was it secured?
Speaker 3 (18:31):
I'm just I'm so curious.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
How well is one padlock? Oh and a plastic security
seal on the back doors?
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Are you kidding now? Like a loaded Jordan's.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yes, yes, So the truck had two drivers, James Baby
and Tandy Motley. And the truck. You know, while that
wasn't armored, James and Tandy they were armed. So this
is July tenth, late afternoon, early evening. The destination was
the Brink storage yard around three hundred and seventy miles
south in Los Angeles. All right, let's stop for some
(19:03):
ADS's make us some money. Yeah, we have to save
the Community Centers erin.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Totally when we get back, save this flying jay.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
More when we get back, zaren.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Okay, So James and James and this giant peach ak
they got they they hop in the truck. You're heading
from San Mateo.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
To Pasadena, La Pasadena.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Three yeah, three hundred and seventy miles south. I guess
it's La because the show's in Pasadena. But they're going
to like a warehouse.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
So during the during the loadout, James and Tandy they
noticed some dudes watching them, Like, did the guys just
like to watch him work and stretch them glues? Tandy
wasn't sure, so he goes over to Brandy. He goes
to Brandy. He says, Brandy, you're a fine girl. What
a good wife you'll be. But my life, my love,
and my lady's the sea.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
I understand it completely, and so could say that.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
No, he said, Brandy, I don't like the looks of
those guys. She's like, you know what, I agree with you.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
A fine girl, let me tell you.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
But then he's like, this is great, we've established we
don't like that. But we got to get on the
road by and like drive away. And then Brandy did
that armpole thing and they hot the horn at her. So,
in compliance with Department of Transportation regulations, James he went
to sleep as soon as they left. Rude. I hate
(20:44):
when I'm driving a long distance and my passenger falls asleep.
Really cheeses me off. But I guess the FEDS want
them to do this so that one is always well rested. Yes, so, James,
he just climbed into the truck's sleeping berth and had
himself a snooze cruise. Yeah, so, according to Ports, still
out making into a cozy zone.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
Yeah, put you know, like.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
A little crouchet blank his grandma made him.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah, according to Little Dog Ports. The truck pulled in
for a stop a little after midnight at the button
Willow Rest Areack Button Willow Man, We've all been there.
Tandy had to use a little boys room okay, the commode,
and that was around one am. And they stopped again
(21:30):
at two oh five, this time in La bec. I
call foul on the timing, since fifty four miles down
five from Button Willow to La Beet.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
That doesn't Work's a big old truck.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
It's not like a supercar.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Yeah, that's just doesn't work out. Even though I drive
like a hundred. That doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
All of the timing and the court documents was a mess,
and it makes me wonder what they're covering up Zarin.
What are the ranks using new technologies the government doesn't
want us to know about.
Speaker 6 (21:55):
That's my question, only logical to the national security apparatus,
but I think they usually have this point pretty good geolocators,
so you'll be.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Able to I really think that there's some teletransportation going
on and they don't want us to know stuff they
don't want you to know. Yeah, teleporting. Anyway, it's two five,
and for whatever reason they stopped again.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Okay, three oh five would work, but not to.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Let's say it was five. I think that they got.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Was this a day with one of those fallbacks bring
forward days? You know what, the time you got an
extra hour? This is July right.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Here's what I think happened. I think that like the
drivers misspoke and then it got picked up in news stories.
And I don't think they were looking at like official still,
and I think that they left a little earlier than
they said they did. Anyway, So we've we've tracked James
and Tandy as they cruised the highways of California. If
(22:58):
you are from the bear La, as we said, you
know this drive very well, very very well. I can
picture the whole thing like I see me doing ninety
down five. It's just as begs for you. Gotta let
that pony run, nothing but scrub and cattle and the
aqueduct around you. Sound asleep in the past, you see
(23:18):
fuming and like muttering curses that in Tesla doing sixty
in the left lane.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
I'm staying fresh in case I have to.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Drive federal regulation. We've all been there, and now you're
there there. I want you to bigger it. It's two
five am on July eleventh, twenty two. You are a
(23:46):
small teenage boy sitting cross legged on top of a
garbage can, at the gas pumps at the Flying Jay
in Lebeca, California. You aren't really a small teenage boy.
You're a soul on a mission. You've lived thousands of
lives over thousands of years, witness hundreds of events, beautiful moments,
unspeakable tragedies, explosions of joy, low points of humanity. You
(24:09):
close your eyes as a dancer spared by Djengis Khan
after his sack of Sammarcan in twelve twenty, and you
just open them as a young teen and an Afi shirt,
dirty cargo shorts perched atop a garbage can in this
strange wasteland. You're facing the Flying Jay truck stop. It's
well lit, but that light doesn't do much to penetrate
(24:30):
the dim edges of the truck lot. It's asphalt giving
way to dry grass and the rolling hills beyond. Attached
to the Flying Jay is a Denny's. It too, is
brightly lit, a beacon to weary and hungry travelers. You
hear a rumble and watch as a large tractor trailer
truck enters the lot and parks to the side. It's unmarked,
just plain white as the engine cuts and begins to
(24:52):
click and hiss in the warm night. The driver gets out.
He's bearded sturdy. He stretches his back and heads toward
the Flying Jay. You can see into the Flying j
and watch as he goes to stand in line at
one of the food counters. And something catches your eye movement.
A black car with blacked out windows slowly rolls up
(25:13):
behind the truck. You can sense that this is not right.
The evil and ill intent just hums off the car.
You stay seated watching Two men hop nimbly from the
car and make quick work of a padlock and plastic
seal on the back of the trailer. Each tumble to
the blacktop and skid away one by one. Gently. One
(25:33):
man opens the back of the truck. You see piles
and piles of orange bags. The men look at each
other for a moment. Then one runs to the back
of their car and pops the trunk. The other hops
into the trailer and struggles to lift a bag. They
whisper back and forth a bit, and then the one
in the truck gingerly begins to lift bags, handing them
down to his accomplice. At first he puts the bags
(25:54):
in the trunk, but he soon runs out of room.
He opens the back passenger door and starts tossing bags
into the backs. Twenty minutes goes by. The men have
run out of room in their car. You watched them
transfer twenty four bags from the truck to their car.
They hop into their ride and screech out, their tires
gripping the hot tarmac. A few minutes go by, and
(26:15):
you see the truck's driver return fountain, soda and bag
of food in hand. The smell of the grease wafts
your way, and you close your eyes while inhaling the scent.
You don't remember the last time you ate. When you
open your eyes, you see nothing but blue sky. It's midday.
You're on your back. You hear hooves on dirt, the
snort of horses. You're suddenly tipped upright, and you see
(26:37):
that you're in a wagon. You're on a woman's lap.
You're a baby. You wear bright embroidered fabrics. Those around
you speak a language you haven't heard. A new life
for you zerin and you won't find out what happened
if that truck's.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Not damn, that's I mean.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
I love the time tripping that was awesome. The kid
got killed in the parking lot.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
No, no, he closed does it? He ate his size
and he vanishes, he goes somewhere else.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Is just a new spirit somewhere else, But it's something
like reincarnation, which would imply.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
He doesn't necessitated.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Blinks to reply, he's a soul.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Yeah, he's a soul hopper. I love that. The sammar
can you have me there? Like, hey, my boy.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
So you little boy time traveler. You may not know
what's going to happen. We we find out what happens
or what went down. So Tandy, as we said, got
out to get somebody.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Sure he was famished, but the other driver stayed in
the car.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Snooze cise dudes roll up, stole twenty four bags of loot.
Tandy came back out, saw the security tag on the ground.
Apparently the thieves took the lock with him, and so
Tandy like bangs on the side of the truck, wakes James.
He hops out, apparently a.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Deep sleeper because that thing that the trailer had to
be rocking when they hop in the bag. They're moving
stuff and there's multiple men hopping up and down.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Like a face mass. Very noise canceling headphones and like
aromatherapy reeks of lavender in the sleeping cabin. So they
like they open up the bag and they're fearing the worst,
and it was bad. The thieves had taken bags from
the front of the trailer, which is where they had
put the higher value stuff. Oh yeah, they didn't just
(28:20):
take the bags of beads door. So and it looked
like that they had seen the thieves had seen it
get low. So the drivers they call the cops. LA
Sheriff's deputies show up because they're just inside. Wow. Yeah,
there's bodycam footage available on Daily Mail. Their answers to
the cops questions are kind of all over the place,
(28:41):
Like they got the timing screwed up in some of
the retellings, and they tried to estimate the amount of
jewelry in the bags, but that's not really their business.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Yeah, I mean, it seems like an inside job.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Well, they got confused about some of the markings on
the bag. The whole thing's messy, Like they're rattled. Yeah,
and you know, they know they're hauling a lot of value.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I mean, they're probably an to get fired.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
They know they're going to be scrutinized the few days. Yeah,
and then there's got to be that feeling of like
literally dodging a bullet because it was like a sneaky
heist and not at the end of a barrel of
a gun, so they didn't get got and maybe there's
like the adrenaline of that.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
I thought maybe those guys were anywhere knows.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Pepper, Yeah, so he needed some Like Carlstenior, there wasn't
any CCTV coverage in the area of the lot where
they were parked, which is that's also I'm also wondering
about the footage from other big rigs because like in
the bodycam footage, the guy who's in the truck park
next to the Brinks rig comes out and it's like,
what's going on off sir and the cops. Like anyone
(29:46):
I think who spends a lot of time on the
road these days seems to have dash.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Cam, yes, especially hauling anything worthwhile or.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
That you have to prove that you weren't tru But
so we just know that flying j didn't cover that
part of the lot that maybe it scares away the lizards.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
They don't want to know what goes on over there.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
You no A witness at the Flying j said that
he heard some of the guys speaking in a language
other than English to each other, and he was like,
it wasn't Spanish, because I would recognize that it was
something else. He was probably all, they didn't say gelopa,
no pepper or buenos dias, so it's not Spanish. They
didn't mention the biblioteca. So James and Tandy may have
(30:32):
seemed kind of hanky, but they weren't sending up major
red flags when when they kind of investigators looked into
their lives or like these dud.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
There's no weird bank accounts. Stand they're just kind of incompetent,
Like you said, families.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Like the slow He yeah, as you said, it did
have the feel of an inside job though.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Right he does.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
I mean all the all the facts, I mean, just
the fact that they stopped and they did and where
they did.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
There were thoughts that maybe someone at Brinks tipped off
thieves as to the route. Sure, Tandy told the cops
at the Flying Jay that maybe he was followed and
it could have been thieves working on behalf of one
of the jewelers running an.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
Insurance Oh whoa, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Slow down their Columbos road and let the pros look
into that.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yeah right, He's like, then it's going to insurance fraud.
From one of the fellow gymologists, I'm like.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
WHOA, Like, Tandy, you need to take a nap. So
Brinks said that about eight point seven million dollars worth
of goods had been stolen. Some of the jewelers and
the dealers who lost their stuff sued Brinks. I mean
the truck only had a padlock on it. Here's the problem.
So Brink said it was eight point seven million, and
the jewelers supported that in their initial paperwork, but in
(31:46):
depositions a bunch of them admitted that they very often
low balled the reported value to keep their insurance costs
down on shipping. What yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
They I would rather make less on a on a
theft get paid back so they can make more down
the line.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
It is estimated the actual value of everything stolen was
around one hundred million dollars.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
What, yes, that's not that's not lowbill. That everything that
was lying.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
And that's not everything that was in the truck. That's
it makes it one of the largest jewelry thefts in
modern American history.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
One of the largest American pieces.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
That they've shown pictures of are pretty impressive. Others, I
think maybe it's for the best that they're gone.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Really, yeah, they're kind of.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
No Brinks filed the countersuit. They wanted to limit the
payout to only yes, sue me, sue you. They want
they're like, look, you declared a value of eight point
seven million. That's that's what we're paying. And they're like,
you lied, that's a breach of.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Contract, that's fraud.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah, so there's no way around it. Though. The heist
destroyed some people in their businesses did yeah. In a
statement upon filing suit, the plaintiff said, quote, everyone in
our group has and emotionally and financially destroyed. We are
lost and do not know what comes next in our lives.
Whatever plans we all have for the future for our
businesses and our families has evaporated in an instant.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
So that sucks for.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Them, seriously. In their laws. Are the jewelers there and
they're all small.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Fanis imagine independent jewelers.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, it's not.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
You see it all together with their cases in like
a downtown yes, like plaza.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
It's not every kid jewelers. Yeah, so they were looking
for one hundred million dollars in damages and one hundred
million in restitution from Brains. And they said that it
was a Brinx employee who told them to undervalue the
merch in their pickup manifest quote in order to save
money because the cost of shipping would be too expensive
if they declared the full value of their goods. According
(33:49):
to CNN.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
And do they do they name this employee? Imagine you
kind of have to have that person.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
I think there are a lot of them, said, so
I think they're different.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
They're saying they were getting it.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Oh, so that was kind of like.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
It's like a common snake industry. So CNN. Quote. One
merchant told CNN thirty years of his life's work was
stolen in the heist. He didn't share his name nor
the name of his businesses with CNN over concerns of
being targeted again. He expressed that he was quote emotional
and speechless and wants quote brings to answer to him
after losing some collectibles and unique pieces in the theft.
(34:22):
So you think about it, it's twenty twenty two. COVID
had done a serious number on retail. People got comfortable
buying online. They didn't really want to come back from that.
Jewelry is generally something that you want to buy in person.
But it was still a struggle for brick and mortar.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
And then yeah, these dealers and the jewelers, they go
to the expo. They're hoping to make these sales, keep
the businesses going.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
To pay their rent back home.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Uh. People go to the expos to try and get
a good deal on the stuff. So there aren't like
high rollers in the sense that they'll pay top dollar.
The whole thing's kind of hard scrabble for these guys,
and now it's gone. So according to the La Times, quote,
one of the victims, Malki of forty seventh and fifth Incorporated,
said that telling his children about the theft was the
toughest thing he'd ever done. Quote. They always looked at me.
(35:08):
I'm their hero, I'm the tough guy. I didn't want
to break that image for them, so I told them
everything's going to be okay, but for now we're going
to have to make some changes. Inside. I was torn
apart and devastated. The article goes on. Malki gave The
Times an interview over lunch in Pasadena and kept his
composure throughout the meeting until he detailed the conversation he'd
(35:29):
had about the theft with his children. Malki struggled to
contain his emotions as he shared his seven year old
daughter's attempt to cheer him up after his disclosure of
the crime. Quote she said, Dad, don't worry, I'm gonna
have a lemonade stand. She gave me the biggest hug.
Speaker 4 (35:44):
Oh man, I know I've dealt with a bunch of
these people because I've sold and been with people to
recommend and go through the process with them selling loose diamonds.
Speaker 3 (35:55):
And they are not with people picture you know what
I mean. You know, they're very usually family men, family
women who've been running a business, working with often their
husband or wife.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah, they're not flashy. Yeah, And we've talked about this before,
like how we tell these stories. But there are victims
on the other end of things, and that's you know
why we like weed smugglers and those who steal from
the violently.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Well, yeah, it's easier to write because like.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
No one's losing their life savings, no.
Speaker 5 (36:21):
One's destroyed, they're just embarrassed.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Well not here. Yeah, people lost their livelihoods here. So
the detail of the stolen inventory is just staggering. One
guy lost more than thirteen hundred items that he'd put
together over decades worth at least like twelve million dollars,
and of course he admitted that he only shired it
at a value of four hundred thousand dollars. Oh yeah,
(36:44):
let's take a break. We'll come back. We'll hear more
from these devastated jewelers. And then we've got a little
bit of a twist. Nice zaren Okay, So we took
(37:14):
a little break. There more of these jewelers and designers.
There's one an eighty three year old woman, Amy Kit
sing Lung. She operated Hawaiian Designs jewelry, and she said
that her business was totally gone after losing seven hundred
thousand dollars worth of stuff. And she said that it
(37:34):
was only you know, in the manifest, she said it
was only worth four hundred thousand because anything else would
be too expensive to ship. And what's worse is that
she was selling and shipping for others.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Oh, she's now in the hook.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Yeah, because she's eighty three. All these other older vendors
and those who had like compromised immune systems who didn't
want to go get exposed to COVID. Oh, they couldn't
be at the show, so now their stuff's gone to Yeah,
so three of the fourteen plaintiffs in the suit settled
with Brinks. No word on for how much. Some wound
up suing Flying J too. They said that there'd been
(38:08):
a bunch of thefts at that location and they should
have had better security, but yet reasonable. Well, February of
twenty twenty four, a judge ruled that the examples presented
by the jewelers of thefts at that particular Flying J
weren't like what happened with the Brinx truck. So there's
no way for Flying J to anticipate such a thing.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
Okay, this is one of those you have to exhibit
exercise control kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
So you know, I mean, they could have had better
camera setups whatever, But I mean especially because like think
about the amount of merchandise and goods that sits in
that lot at any young time, like trailers full of
like electronics, old navy fashions, jelly sandals.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
You'll be breaking in.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Vape cartridges, holiday buntings, decorative figurines, closed soap. Yeah, Zarin,
there's no telling what's in those trucks.
Speaker 5 (39:00):
Diapers given time.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Dipies go on the streets. Yeah, oh, they done so
either way, eggs, eggs. The jewelers, those jewelers are devastated.
Some of them closed their business, others struggled along. And
it seemed to be just an unfortunate and brazen crime
now in the past. But then just recently something changed changed, Sarain.
(39:26):
We've had this wild ride together with this. It's one
of the biggest jewelry heights in US history, right here
in the Golden State. Can I tell you something though
justice never sleeps, does it not? Does not? I am
happy to report that on Tuesday, June seventeenth, twenty twenty
five years after the US Attorney Central District of California
(39:47):
unsealed an indictment. The day before June sixteenth, they'd executed
a search warrant and had made arrests in the case
the idea of the Brinx truck heist at the Flying.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
Jay Whoa, they stayed and.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
It turns out it was a crew that had been
planning this for some time, like practicing their highest pulling out.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Yeah, I curious huh, that.
Speaker 2 (40:07):
Happened like just a few days ago, back in a
time when we were recording this. So we just have
the arrest. At some point in the future, will get
a flurry of emails and dms telling us about the
court case and the sentencing er acquittal all. Give an
update then, and then we'll continue to get Instagram d
ms about the results of the case for the next
year or so, even after I give the updates such as.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Life, Such is life. I was really hoping that the
CHP was playing a prominent role on the bus. I
love the HP. I know you do.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
You really do.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
We have to talk about that. I respect them, you
love them.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
I do love them. I've been totally like treated poorly
by the sage.
Speaker 4 (40:43):
That's why we're talking about you should not love people
who treat you so poorly. I respect them. You can
respect people who it's a different level. You got to
stop licking them when you're around.
Speaker 3 (40:59):
That's where I have to apologize. Got a condition, It's.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Okay, yeh, And I'm like, no leaky, leaky. Prosecutors alleged
that there are seven co conspirators who carried out the
theft Sven. Yeah, the men were each charged with conspiracy
to commit theft from interstate Inflorence shipment.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
Could you repeat that more time?
Speaker 2 (41:19):
It was conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment.
I got you so nice, I named it twice. Some
are facing additional charges. Who are they?
Speaker 3 (41:29):
I just about asked? Do we ever get to the
I could list their names their name, but you won't.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
But they've only been indicted, not like convicted.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
You don't want to.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
I don't want to put their names out there. If
you're so inclined and you have too much time on
your hands, you can go ahead and get to googling.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
Do we know where? Ruffian? Where they come from?
Speaker 2 (41:45):
This is exactly what I'm going to tell you, so
thank you. I will say that they're all men, okay,
and I'm going to give you their ages and their
cities of residence. Ah Okay, So thirty one years old,
Pasadenak thirty six years old, Boyle Heights, currently an inmate
in Arizona State Prison. Okay forty one years old out
of rialto.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
Okay, I'm going with Hispanic.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
So far sixty out of Rampart Village neighborhood, Heights thirty
three out of South La.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
Okay forty two.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Forty two coming out of Uplands Oppland, Okay, and thirty
six of the Westlake.
Speaker 5 (42:18):
Neighborhood of La Wow like Toronto's.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
So I will say that if the witness at the
truck stop did actually see some of them there and
heard them talking, then he was wrong about it not
being Spanish that they.
Speaker 3 (42:30):
Spoke, yes, because it does certainly seem.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
They didn't say gilapino popper. You know as well as
I that there are many dialects of Spanish.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
Suns, and like I couldn't even in countries like I
learned in Colombian, I could start picking up party accents
and be like, oh, you're from Medaine.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Tell, And I couldn't tell from their last names. If
there was a specific shared country of origin, might be
the United States, to be honest, Texas, But Mexican Spanish
different places is a lot different than Spain Spanish, which
is different than Colombian Spanish, Cuban Spanish Spanish.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
It's crazy, and each of these they.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Got their own slaying idioms anyway, back to the purpse.
So if convicted, five of them got would get steeper
charges and could face up to twenty years in federal
prison for each robbery charge. All the defendants could be
looking to at least five years for the theft conspiracy
charge and then ten for the thefts quote. It was
(43:23):
a long time coming, and there were times when the
victims and members of the team wondered whether we see
this success. That's an Assistant US Attorney Kevin Butler talking.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
So what happens with restitution and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
Like I don't even think they touch on that.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
Yeah, but I mean, like, is there any hope that
not that they'll recover the gen sell them.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
Some of the stolen jewelry was recovered during the searches. Yeah,
and I feel like maybe they held onto the watches.
That's just conjecture on my part. Liked it, Yeah, but
I think it's great that they were able to get
some of the stuff. Three years on, the Feds also
found a bunch of cash, so there was like fencing
going on. Most of the stolen goods are still missing,
(44:03):
but there's still more search.
Speaker 5 (44:04):
Warrants to execute.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Sure, I believe it may find more stuff. I believe
that will find more people.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
May they might find the tackier pieces they couldn't move. Yeah,
So the crews planning for the heist allegedly started at
the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo, Tucson.
So allegedly the main guy case the show for days
starting on July eighth, the guy with the chair, yeah,
(44:30):
twenty twenty two. July eighth, he found out where they
were going. Next, he watched the comings and goings. He
checked out the wars. July tenth, three other guys allegedly
cased the Brinx truck. When the truck left San Mateo,
it began what the FEDS were calling, quote a complex
choreography that ended up in lbec.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
Very fast and furious. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
So there were different cars following the truck, taking turns,
getting one to like subtly follow the load. Because the
drivers when they were talking to the deputy showed.
Speaker 3 (45:00):
There's the headlights. If it's just the same headlights chasing
around five.
Speaker 2 (45:03):
You're always gonna you can go a long way with
like someone right behind you.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
Something as if you get off, they get off, you
get off, the get off.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
I mean that would be weird, right, And so the
guy the when he talked to the deputies Tandy, when
he was like, I don't think we were followed. I
didn't see anybody.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
So they were running rounds on them.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
And so they're like they're coming on and off summer
stationed down the highway waiting for their turn to hop
on tail the truck. They would call each other keep
tabs like this, like mobile logistics operation. Oh, it doesn't
say in the court filing how the crew gained access
to the trailer. Yeah, I'm guessing like bolt cutters are
like a grinder. Which even then, so if they had
(45:40):
a grinder, like James, she didn't wake up. Yeah, and
I think a grinder waking up, I think it's It
doesn't mention if they're armed either.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
So anyway, locks are not difficult if it's just like no.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
No, Yeah, they broke into the truck.
Speaker 3 (45:52):
You have a little liquid oxygen and break that right open.
Speaker 2 (45:54):
And they emptied the bags into the car. And then
the indictment says that they drove to East Hollywood and
apparently they had no idea how much stuff they'd gained.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Are you for real? They it just got lucky.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
They got was a major score. They had no idea.
So they're just opening these bags being like, oh my god, if.
Speaker 3 (46:13):
You did a crime that was so good that you
have to leave your life.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Well, in the days afterwards, a bunch of them start
deactivating their cell phone numbers.
Speaker 3 (46:22):
The best thing you could do is leave the country.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
Yeah, they must have been so spooked by this.
Speaker 4 (46:27):
Go to a little ranch in some place that speaks
the language you speak and nobody.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
They didn't. Though they didn't. This wasn't their first heist though.
Apparently in the months leading up to the back heist,
a bunch of the crew members pulled off a series
of thefts all across.
Speaker 5 (46:41):
San Bernardino County.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
So in some of those cases, the mos No, it's
pretty much the same, like they would case and follow
truck stops. Yeah, they went to truck stops similar places
they would quote identify and rob steele, unlawfully take and
unlawfully carry away a variety of merchandise. So, according to
the indictment, yeah, they used multiple vehicles to follow trucks
(47:03):
carrying shipments of electronics and other items until they would
reach a stopping point, and then the alleged thieves would
like rob or burgle the vehicles. Some would allegedly being
very careful here, act as lookouts around businesses where the
trucks were parked. Others just did straight up smash and
grabs like bippins, and they'd had back to La, split
(47:23):
up the goods, fence them with trusted connections.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
My pain a couple of guys who did this.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
And he did any of them. I should have listed
the names.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
No, it's a common form of pirracy. Yeah, yeah so it.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
March second, twenty twenty two months before the Lebeck heist,
prosecutors said that members of the crew used multiple vehicles
to follow a truck carrying Samsung electronics from Ontario, California.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
Oh yeah, so when.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
The vehicle stopped at a store in Ontario, crew members
allegedly distracted the driver in the shop while some in
the group stole the electronics. And I would love to
know how they distracted the driver. Was like raise their
skirt and show like a fish netted cat.
Speaker 3 (48:05):
They did a mime show with balloons.
Speaker 2 (48:07):
Yeah, they were like someone like trips and falls and
spills chocolate milk all over the floor and they're staring,
comes to help and cries, just starts crying and.
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Beating up adults. That's what's going on in this town.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
That hall was worth almost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 3 (48:24):
That's much smaller. Yeah, but that's that's probably what they
normally would get.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
That's what they're thinking. Yeah, so le's.
Speaker 3 (48:31):
After that they got.
Speaker 2 (48:33):
Another box truck, and that one ironically was carrying Apple
air tags.
Speaker 3 (48:39):
A rough one. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
The driver stopped for food in Fontana and the guys
made their move. They walked away with fifty seven thousand
dollars in air tags.
Speaker 3 (48:48):
Is that a lot? Yeah? I think I don't how
much air tags?
Speaker 2 (48:50):
Like twenty five bucks? Okay, okay, Well they started to
walk away because the driver caught him. Maybe they were
air tags. So the driver caught the thieves. According to
the indictment, one who had like a small knife, allegedly yelled,
don't move or I will help you up.
Speaker 3 (49:06):
That's knife all night.
Speaker 2 (49:07):
Within the small knife. They had other failures. May twenty fifth,
twenty twenty two, A bunch of them tried to drive
to a truck stop in Fontana to steal from a truck.
They used a crowbar to break in. It took off
before they could grab anything.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
With a lock. Conversation, I guess really not that.
Speaker 2 (49:25):
Later that same day they went back to Fontana, this
time they stole more. Samsung Electronics valued it a little
more than fourteenth.
Speaker 3 (49:32):
Though good electronics. Elizabeth yeah So.
Speaker 2 (49:34):
Reached for comment. MALKI remember the jeweler, He told the
La Times the indictment was quote awesome. Quote. I don't
know what to say, he said. I'm absolutely shocked.
Speaker 3 (49:44):
He is a tough guy.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
He's a tough guy. In response to the charges, Brinks
said the statement, quote, we deeply appreciate the efforts of
law enforcement to resolve this matter. We will continue to
watch the case closely.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
Oh my god, what a nothing.
Speaker 2 (49:57):
Stay absolutely nothing statement. So that's where we are on this.
This is this is as far as this train goes. Zaren,
what's your ridiculous takeaway.
Speaker 4 (50:07):
I'm still hung up on the idea that if you
have a scored this big, it's kind of like the
plot to No Country for Old Men, where you come
along this this crazy money, you realize this life changing,
but then you also realize someone's.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
Gonna come looking for Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (50:20):
And I've got to hide from that person. And if
it's crime like they are, it's going to be either
law enforcement or fellow criminals either one. It's going to
be people who are motivated, Yeah, can find you. So
I feel bad for them in a certain way that
they did so well. They did too well, something.
Speaker 2 (50:37):
That would have worked in like the seventies.
Speaker 3 (50:39):
Yes, without so much.
Speaker 2 (50:41):
There's so much technology where you can track them and
like cameras, so we don't know based on these search horms.
We don't know what like dash cam footage they had,
you know with the jewelry. Now they do like microscopic lasers.
Speaker 3 (50:56):
Yeah, then grave.
Speaker 2 (50:57):
Engraving on stuff that you can.
Speaker 3 (50:59):
Track holographic marks that are like.
Speaker 2 (51:03):
Yeah, So it's like there, there's it's so hard to
get away with this kind of thing, and we leave
a digital footprint everywhere we go. So anyway, I really
do want to get a burner phone. I don't know why.
Speaker 3 (51:17):
Yeah, I know you want to get a flip phone
or burner phone. Away, Elizabeth.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
My takeaway is that I saw that it's it's interesting
to tell a story like this where I was looking
at it. I've been like kind of looking at it
for a bit of this is a good story, but
like it wasn't fully enough, and then all of a
sudden these arrests came in. I was like I pounced
on it. Like I can't.
Speaker 3 (51:41):
They got them.
Speaker 2 (51:42):
They got them, Dave. I think we could do with
a talk bag.
Speaker 3 (51:51):
Oh my god, I want.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
My name's Ann.
Speaker 7 (52:01):
I've been listening to you since the beginning. I just
really appreciate you, guys. I must say, I am listening
to the American Beatles episode and this is probably the
most voices I have ever heard Zarin use, which is
great entertainment. Thanks for a good job, everybody, ridiculous crime staff.
(52:26):
I forgot to mention I was nine years old when
the Beatles, the British Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show.
We just thought they were kind of odd. Anyway, Thanks you.
Speaker 2 (52:46):
I love the nine year old perspective on that.
Speaker 3 (52:48):
Yeah, likes love this, but I don't know. I see
a mop haired It's just a little strange.
Speaker 2 (52:54):
That's awesome. I love that you're getting some props for
your voices.
Speaker 3 (52:57):
Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (52:58):
And I'm trying to do non offensive accents when I
do accent, so if ever, I apologize to those I've
offended in the past. And I just know that for
the most part, I try to stick to accents that
I have family connections to, like I have the genes
like if I'm doing an accent, I'm like, honestly, I'm
one of your people.
Speaker 3 (53:15):
I'm sorry, I.
Speaker 2 (53:17):
Love that, right, that's a good ethos to have.
Speaker 3 (53:20):
Can I do that? Like? I'm French too?
Speaker 2 (53:22):
Why not?
Speaker 3 (53:23):
Good at it?
Speaker 2 (53:24):
But that's it for today. You can find us online
at ridiculous Crime dot com. Did you know fun fact
about our website?
Speaker 3 (53:33):
No? I don't.
Speaker 2 (53:35):
It's on the e PA's number three why super fun site?
Speaker 3 (53:39):
Oh yeah, without you.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
We're on blue Sky and Instagram Ridiculous Crime. We're also
on YouTube Ridiculous Crime Pod, and you can email us
at ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com, leave a talk
download the free iHeart app, leave us a talkback, Please
reach out. Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and
(54:10):
Zaren Burnett, produced and edited by Dave Cousten. A Friend
in the Diamond Business starring Annals Rutger as Judith. Research
is by Vintage Rolex restorer Marissa Brown. The theme song
is by Flying J Custodians who are Disgusted with how
people treat the bathrooms Thomas Lee and Travis Dutton. Post
wardrobe is provided by Botany five hundred guest hair and
(54:31):
makeup by Sparkleshot and mister Andre. Executive producers are Turquoise Bolo,
Tie dealer Ben Bolan and toe Ring Empresario Noel Brown
Clime Say It One More Timeous Crime.
Speaker 1 (54:53):
Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. Four more podcasts
my heart Radio visit the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts, wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Zaron Burnett
Elizabeth Dutton
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