Suit: Brink’s driver asleep during Los Angeles jewelry heist
LANCASTER, Calif. - One of the drivers of a Brink’s tractor-trailer was asleep inside the big rig, parked near a remote Southern California rest stop earlier this summer, when thieves broke a lock and stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry and gemstones, according to a lawsuit filed by the security company.
While the second driver was getting food inside the rest stop early July 11 — spending nearly 30 minutes away from the vehicle — the thieves stole 22 bags of jewelry from the vehicle and fled.
The heist nabbed a haul that’s been described as worth less than $10 million or roughly $100 million and the value is now the subject of two lawsuits filed this month. If the latter figure is accurate, it would be one of the largest jewelry thefts in modern history.
But Brink’s, in a federal lawsuit filed Aug. 4 in New York, stated that the pickup manifests signed by the jewelers reported a total of $8.7 million worth of merchandise in the 22 stolen bags.
The security company’s lawsuit alleges that the jewelers under-declared the value of the items that were being transported overnight from a jewelry show in the San Francisco Bay Area down to the Los Angeles region for another event. The theft occurred near the "Flying J" rest stop and gas station in the unincorporated community of Lebec, about 75 miles (120.7 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles.
Brink’s is seeking to limit potential payouts to the jewelers, who say their cargo was worth $100 million and that the security company is trying to deny compensation to its customers for a theft "its drivers practically invited to happen."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Jewelry worth millions stolen from Brink's truck near Los Angeles
Fourteen jewelers and jewelry companies alleged breach of contract and negligence in a lawsuit filed Monday against Brink’s in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
A spokeswoman for Brink’s declined to comment to The Associated Press on Tuesday, citing the pending litigation. Lawyers for the jewelers in the state lawsuit did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant who is investigating the case.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the lawsuits on Tuesday.
Brink’s lawsuit states that the driver left his partner in the big rig’s sleeping berth while he went to get food — a move the company says was "per Department of Transportation regulations."
He was gone for 27 minutes and returned to find the lock broken, though the sleeping driver said he hadn’t seen or heard anything unusual, according to the lawsuit. It was not immediately clear whether the driver was supposed to be gone for so long, and if the sleeping berth is sound-proof.
In their lawsuit, the "mom and pop" jewelers are seeking $100 million in damages and $100 million in restitution from Brink’s. The jewelers allege that a Brink’s employee told them to under-value their merchandise on the pickup manifests "in order to save money, because the cost of shipping would be too expensive if they declared the full value of their goods."