WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – A Wayne County man is facing federal charges for allegedly robbing an armored truck at gunpoint.
Just after 4 p.m. on Oct. 25, 2024, a man robbed a Brink’s Armored Courier driver and a Brink’s armored truck at gunpoint outside a Home Depot in Harper Woods.
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In an affidavit, the driver told investigators he was collecting a monetary deposit from the home improvement store carrying the deposit when a man approached him, brandished a revolver and demanded money from him. The robber took the driver’s gun, which he was carrying in a holster.
The robber ordered the driver to get back in the truck and handcuff himself to the steering wheel of the truck; the driver complied.
After a few minutes, the robber opened the truck’s vault, filled a cash courier bag with money and left the Brink’s truck with the cash and the driver’s gun.
The robber allegedly took about $360,000 from the vault with the monetary deposit from Home Depot—which was just under $30,000.
Investigators review surveillance video
Authorities believe the robber is likely a current or former Brink’s employee based on the fact that the robber never asked the driver how to open or access the vault in the truck. He also knew the location was particularly vulnerable to theft because of the blind exit from the Home Depot.
In the surveillance video, the robber walked towards the truck five minutes after the driver parked the Brink’s truck. While he was approaching, the driver exited the truck and entered the Home Depot.
The robber tried walking to the same entrance the driver used, and he placed himself at the hinge area of the door to stay out of sight of someone exiting the store.
As the driver left the Home Depot, the robber pulled out a revolver and pointed it at the driver. The driver tried to jump out of the way but quickly put his hands in the air. That’s when the robber took the driver’s gun and followed him inside the tuck.
After some time passed, the robber left the truck carrying a bag and the driver’s gun. As he was leaving, he appeared to drop the driver’s pistol on the ground.
Investigators also gained access to surveillance cameras in the surrounding neighborhood. Through these, they spotted the robber walking towards the Home Depot hours before the incident.
As officers searched the area where the robber was last seen, they found the robber’s clothing on the ground behind a garage in a neighborhood near the Home Depot. The clothing included a Brink’s jacket and patch, along with sunglasses consistent with the clothing the suspect wore at the time of the robbery.
In a nearby yard, officers found two deposit bags of cash from Home Depot along with a cash courier bag and two crumpled-up work gloves matching the ones worn by the robber. The bag contained $29,305.81, which was the exact amount taken from the Home Depot.
With assistance from the Detroit Police Department, investigators found in surveillance video the robber walking on 8 Mile Road wearing the same clothing. Investigators also received videos from the Detroit Department of Transportation, where the suspect wearing the same clothing got onto a bus on 8 Mile.
On Nov. 25, 2024, investigators reviewed a list of current and former Brink’s employees that matched the robber’s description. They soon discovered a former Brink’s employee, Antoine Lashawn Ward, who matched the suspect’s description and lived about one mile west of where the suspect was last seen on surveillance video.
Phone tracking
On Nov. 26, 2024, Brink’s gave authorities Ward’s phone number and address. Investigators pinged Ward’s phone and noticed his phone moved towards the area of the Home Depot for several hours leading up to the robbery and an hour after the robbery happened.
His phone was also tracked to the area of 8 Mile, where Ward was seen on surveillance footage.
According to authorities, Ward worked with Brink’s for six years and could have worked on a variety of routes, including the route where the robbery happened.
Search warrant
Investigators search Ward’s home on Dec. 9, 2024. There, they found multiple guns, including four handguns.
Authorities showed pictures of all four handguns to the driver who was robbed. When they showed the picture of the .38 caliber revolver, the third gun showed, the driver immediately told police, “This one, for sure,” and pointed at the specifics of the revolver that he remembered seeing.
Investigators found pants with paint stains consistent with those in the surveillance camera footage.
They also found shoes identical to the one seen the robber wore at the time of the robbery. One of the shoes is missing its laces—investigators said it’s also visible in the video.
Based on the evidence found in the investigation, authorities believe Ward was the one who robbed the Brink’s truck on Oct. 25, 2024, at gunpoint. He faces charges of interference of commerce by robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
