File Photo
The three defendants last year admitted to their roles in the GardaWorld heist.
By Forum Staff
The three men who pleaded guilty last year to stealing an armored car on Long Island and absconding with its lucrative contents have been sentenced to federal prison, prosecutors recently announced.
In a Central Islip courthouse last week, Richmond Hill residents Raymond Soto, Sr., 49, and Raymond Soto, Jr., 29, and Alexis Laguerra, 32, who lives in Brooklyn, were sentenced to 30 months, 33 months, and 18 months in prison, respectively, for bank larceny in connection with the theft of more than $500,000 from an armored car on Nov. 2, 2018, in Valley Stream.
The three defendants were also ordered to pay forfeiture of $300,000, and restitution of $510,000 to GardaWorld, owner of the armored car.
According to prior guilty plea proceedings, Laguerra, an employee of GardaWorld, used his insider’s knowledge of the company to plot and carry out the theft. Laguerra was the assigned GardaWorld driver for the overnight shift and left the armored car unoccupied and unguarded outside an HSBC Bank branch on Sunrise Highway. Soto Jr. then arrived, entered the armored car, drove a short distance from the bank, and removed three bags of cash totaling $510,000 from the vehicle. Soto Sr., driving a getaway car, picked up Soto Jr. and the cash and fled. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Sotos’ 91st Avenue residence and recovered $131,000 in cash packaged in the same manner as cash is packaged by GardaWorld. Authorities also allegedly found a gun, ammunition, and a quantity of marijuana and cocaine in the Sotos’ apartment.
