$100 Million jewelry heist in Frazier Park, CA was the result of a guard sleeping while the other hung out at a truck stop

[Dan Druff]

You are tasked with carrying $100 million worth of jewels from San Mateo to Los Angeles -- a trek less than 400 miles.

Do you have several people in the armored truck, including with the jewels themselves, with locked and loaded weapons?

Do you perhaps have a second vehicle following, to make sure everything stays okay?

Do you at least drive straight there, without stopping anywhere and leaving the truck vulnerable to robbery?

Apparently for Brinks, the answer to all of the above is NO!



It was one of the largest jewelry heists ever, yet is getting relatively little attention, and there are many questions still surrounding it.

This article does a good job briefly explaining it, and looking at some of the oddities.


On July 10, Brinks was contracted to transport over $100 million in jewels from San Mateo (near San Francisco) to Los Angeles, from one jewel show to another. A single armored truck was commissioned for this, and the journey began after dark. There were only two guards present, and no other vehicles following. The drive is only about 360 miles.

For unknown reasons, they stopped at a Flying J truck stop in Frazier Park, California. This is being reported as an unincorporated area of Lebec, which is technically is, but this Flying J is actually on the outskirts of Frazier Park, which is a mountain town between Santa Clarita and Bakersfield. I am familiar with this truck stop, and have been there several times, as I usually visit Frazier Park at least twice a year.

Anyway, the truck was parked for 25 minutes. Supposedly both guards got out and left the jewels alone! In that time, somehow thieves knew to hit the truck, and knew how to disable to lock in the back, and were able to steal all of the jewels.

The thieves were never seen, and never apprehended.

Here's a picture of some of the jewels stolen:



The guards never explained why they left the truck unattended, nor why it was necessary to stop for 25 minutes at a truck stop when they could have easily done this important delivery nonstop, as it was only 370 miles. Of course, there's good reason to suspect they may have been in on it.

Also, the value of the jewels was in question, with Brinks insisting that they were worth only $10 million, and the jewelers insisting it was over $100 million.

Here's a picture of the Flying J, which for some reason is also being sued:




Now more answers are coming out, thanks to a lawsuit, described in detail by the LA Times.

It appears that both sides were stupid, in this entire mess. The jewelers were intentionally underdeclaring the value of their merchandise to be shipped, and had been doing so for a long time, in order to save money on insurance charged by Brinks. These geniuses apparently didn't realize that they were simply screwing themselves if something ever happened to the jewels. The amount declared was only $8.7 million, when in reality over $100 million of jewels were actually being shipped.

On Brinks side, they had two stooge drivers, who were more concerned with following Department of Transportation sleeping rules than getting many millions of dollars worth of jewels to their destination safely. One of the drivers entered the truck's sleeping bay when the other driver stopped to use the bathroom about 55 miles north of Frazier Park. The non-sleeping driver got hungry in this time, and decided to pull over in Frazier Park to get some food at the Flying J. He did not wake the other driver to keep watch over the truck, because DoT rules state that a sleeping driver cannot be awakened by the other if the sleeper has already worked 14 hours that day. It is assumed that this was why the second driver didn't wake him, and instead chose to leave the truck unguarded! LOL!!!

It's unclear why they assigned a driver for this route who had already worked a lot that day, and would need to go to sleep at some point. A truck can complete this drive in about 6-7 hours.

It's still possible the drivers were in on it, as they parked the truck out of view of security cameras in a dark area of the Flying J. The sleeping story might have been concocted in order to explain how the jewels were accessed. It is still unknown how the thieves knew to hit this particular truck, unless they had either been following it all the way from San Mateo (about 300 miles), or saw an armed guard leave the truck, and figured something valuable must be in there.


Any comment, Mumbles?

[MumblesBadly]

I’ve parked for a 10-hour break at that teuck stop once on my way to a delivery in the greater LA area to next day.

[Dan Druff]

I’ve parked for a 10-hour break at that teuck stop once on my way to a delivery in the greater LA area to next day.

Okay... but can you explain why these guys would have stopped there for 25 minutes on a 360-mile haul, given the expensive cargo?

And was it really impossible by DoT regulations to wake the sleeping driver?

[Sidewinder]

Wait -- the guy was asleep in the truck as it was being robbed?

Also - 10 million in jewlery that's not high end watches like Rolex, etc seems like about 2 million wholesale.

Everyone I know in the jewelry business is filthy rich. Mark-up must be madness.

I still don't understand how the guy was aslep in the sleeping bay of the truck while it got robbed?

Hard to imagine the drivers weren't in on it.

[Dan Druff]

Wait -- the guy was asleep in the truck as it was being robbed?

Also - 10 million in jewlery that's not high end watches like Rolex, etc seems like about 2 million wholesale.

Everyone I know in the jewelry business is filthy rich. Mark-up must be madness.

I still don't understand how the guy was aslep in the sleeping bay of the truck while it got robbed?

Hard to imagine the drivers weren't in on it.

It was like $100+ million in jewelry, but the cheapskate jewelers declared the value of $8.7m because they wanted shipping to be cheaper. Oops.

The sleeping thing seems to be because of a Department of Transportation rule, where the first driver couldn't wake the second. Or at least that's the working theory about it. See my original post.

It's still quite possible this was all set up by the drivers, though.

[Sidewinder]

Wait -- the guy was asleep in the truck as it was being robbed?

Also - 10 million in jewlery that's not high end watches like Rolex, etc seems like about 2 million wholesale.

Everyone I know in the jewelry business is filthy rich. Mark-up must be madness.

I still don't understand how the guy was aslep in the sleeping bay of the truck while it got robbed?

Hard to imagine the drivers weren't in on it.

It was like $100+ million in jewelry, but the cheapskate jewelers declared the value of $8.7m because they wanted shipping to be cheaper. Oops.

The sleeping thing seems to be because of a Department of Transportation rule, where the first driver couldn't wake the second. Or at least that's the working theory about it. See my original post.

It's still quite possible this was all set up by the drivers, though.

I read it and it doesn't make any sense.

The guy was in the same vehicle as a 100 million dollar robbery and never woke up?

[MumblesBadly]

Wait -- the guy was asleep in the truck as it was being robbed?

Also - 10 million in jewlery that's not high end watches like Rolex, etc seems like about 2 million wholesale.

Everyone I know in the jewelry business is filthy rich. Mark-up must be madness.

I still don't understand how the guy was aslep in the sleeping bay of the truck while it got robbed?

Hard to imagine the drivers weren't in on it.

It was like $100+ million in jewelry, but the cheapskate jewelers declared the value of $8.7m because they wanted shipping to be cheaper. Oops.

The sleeping thing seems to be because of a Department of Transportation rule, where the first driver couldn't wake the second. Or at least that's the working theory about it. See my original post.

It's still quite possible this was all set up by the drivers, though.

Most likely the case. DOT Hours of Service regs require drivers each day to take a minimum of 7 hours continuous time in the sleeper berth, which counts toward a 10-hour break. And because of the air gap between the back wall of the tractor and the front of the trailer, only very loud sounds from inside the trailer would be heard by someone in the tractor even if awake.

But what I find especially troubling, though, is why the trailer doors weren’t equipped with an alarm that has to turned off by the driver before being opened. And what kind of cheap lock they used to secure the trailer doors. Because the lock I had to use on high-value loads, such as pharma products, required either a high-temp torch or an angle grinder to remove, and not all that quickly.

Also, on high-value loads, we were required to park the truck with the back of the trailer against something to reduce the chance for someone to open them if breached, say by backing up to another parked truck or wall. But it sounds like the driver on duty parked it in a remote part of the lot.



Which makes me suspicious of the drivers.

[ftpjesus]

You are tasked with carrying $100 million worth of jewels from San Mateo to Los Angeles -- a trek less than 400 miles.

Do you have several people in the armored truck, including with the jewels themselves, with locked and loaded weapons?

Do you perhaps have a second vehicle following, to make sure everything stays okay?

Do you at least drive straight there, without stopping anywhere and leaving the truck vulnerable to robbery?

Apparently for Brinks, the answer to all of the above is NO!



It was one of the largest jewelry heists ever, yet is getting relatively little attention, and there are many questions still surrounding it.

This article does a good job briefly explaining it, and looking at some of the oddities.


On July 10, Brinks was contracted to transport over $100 million in jewels from San Mateo (near San Francisco) to Los Angeles, from one jewel show to another. A single armored truck was commissioned for this, and the journey began after dark. There were only two guards present, and no other vehicles following. The drive is only about 360 miles.

For unknown reasons, they stopped at a Flying J truck stop in Frazier Park, California. This is being reported as an unincorporated area of Lebec, which is technically is, but this Flying J is actually on the outskirts of Frazier Park, which is a mountain town between Santa Clarita and Bakersfield. I am familiar with this truck stop, and have been there several times, as I usually visit Frazier Park at least twice a year.

Anyway, the truck was parked for 25 minutes. Supposedly both guards got out and left the jewels alone! In that time, somehow thieves knew to hit the truck, and knew how to disable to lock in the back, and were able to steal all of the jewels.

The thieves were never seen, and never apprehended.

Here's a picture of some of the jewels stolen:



The guards never explained why they left the truck unattended, nor why it was necessary to stop for 25 minutes at a truck stop when they could have easily done this important delivery nonstop, as it was only 370 miles. Of course, there's good reason to suspect they may have been in on it.

Also, the value of the jewels was in question, with Brinks insisting that they were worth only $10 million, and the jewelers insisting it was over $100 million.

Here's a picture of the Flying J, which for some reason is also being sued:




Now more answers are coming out, thanks to a lawsuit, described in detail by the LA Times.

It appears that both sides were stupid, in this entire mess. The jewelers were intentionally underdeclaring the value of their merchandise to be shipped, and had been doing so for a long time, in order to save money on insurance charged by Brinks. These geniuses apparently didn't realize that they were simply screwing themselves if something ever happened to the jewels. The amount declared was only $8.7 million, when in reality over $100 million of jewels were actually being shipped.

On Brinks side, they had two stooge drivers, who were more concerned with following Department of Transportation sleeping rules than getting many millions of dollars worth of jewels to their destination safely. One of the drivers entered the truck's sleeping bay when the other driver stopped to use the bathroom about 55 miles north of Frazier Park. The non-sleeping driver got hungry in this time, and decided to pull over in Frazier Park to get some food at the Flying J. He did not wake the other driver to keep watch over the truck, because DoT rules state that a sleeping driver cannot be awakened by the other if the sleeper has already worked 14 hours that day. It is assumed that this was why the second driver didn't wake him, and instead chose to leave the truck unguarded! LOL!!!

It's unclear why they assigned a driver for this route who had already worked a lot that day, and would need to go to sleep at some point. A truck can complete this drive in about 6-7 hours.

It's still possible the drivers were in on it, as they parked the truck out of view of security cameras in a dark area of the Flying J. The sleeping story might have been concocted in order to explain how the jewels were accessed. It is still unknown how the thieves knew to hit this particular truck, unless they had either been following it all the way from San Mateo (about 300 miles), or saw an armed guard leave the truck, and figured something valuable must be in there.


Any comment, Mumbles?

In truth those DOT rules are no fucking joke. Theres a gig company that runs a lot of rental trucks for self moving out of AZ and they get dead headed to places in CA OR and even outside Seattle.. If a driver has to drive from AZ into one of those states even without a CDL and such the DOT drive time rules of service apply and you have to keep a log of all driving for the previous week and have it on you during the job your on (usually its two drivers splitting it up with short breaks non stop often as long as 20-24hrs driving time total and then flown back to Phoenix AZ). Ive considered it to do occasionally but the paperwork part is just a bitch even if the gig pays $500 for basically a long ass days work and redeye home that long in a truck would seriously F my back up. Ive done a couple of the runs to like Flagstaff and Tucson as they are half day and still pay decently. But having to basically drive from Phoenix to Oakland CA, or even Seattle yeah Ill pass.

[ftpjesus]

Wait -- the guy was asleep in the truck as it was being robbed?

Also - 10 million in jewlery that's not high end watches like Rolex, etc seems like about 2 million wholesale.

Everyone I know in the jewelry business is filthy rich. Mark-up must be madness.

I still don't understand how the guy was aslep in the sleeping bay of the truck while it got robbed?

Hard to imagine the drivers weren't in on it.

It was like $100+ million in jewelry, but the cheapskate jewelers declared the value of $8.7m because they wanted shipping to be cheaper. Oops.

The sleeping thing seems to be because of a Department of Transportation rule, where the first driver couldn't wake the second. Or at least that's the working theory about it. See my original post.

It's still quite possible this was all set up by the drivers, though.

I believe the rest rule is a hard one with DOT on driving and mandatory rest breaks. Hell even with rideshare in most states after 12hrs driving only it doesnt count time online but sitting not moving against you (with Uber) or 12hrs just online (with Lyft) you are mandatorily required to be offline for 6 hrs straight before being allowed back on. You can extend out your time being offline at times hell even driving and repositioning as long as your not actively on the apps but once that 12hrs hit your kicked off for 6hrs straight and thats if not all nearly every state rideshare operates in (Notice I said on the app since you could theoretically be driving for both companies yes some moron could be driving non stop on uppers/meth and get away with it being on the other platform while they are supposed ot be resting and just the other night some idiot fell asleep behind the wheel online took out a tree and their vehicle on the north side of the valley at about 2am per another drivers report on Facebook).

[SinglesHitter]

Driving for Brinks is like playing NLHE - years of boredom interrupted by a few moments of terror.

Inside job always looked at first, but it’s such an asinine job by the drivers it’s a tough call with limited info.

Charlestown must be close to Frazier Park I feel like