Long Island Armored Car Robbers Plead Guilty

Three men who worked together to rob an armored car in Valley Stream last November all pleaded guilty to the charges against them today.

Alexis Laguerra, 30, of Brooklyn, and Raymond Soto, Sr., 48, of Richmond Hill, Queens, admitted to working together to steal more than $500,000 from an armored car on Nov. 2, 2018. Raymond Soto, Jr., 30, also of Richmond Hill, pleaded guilty on March 18.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Alexis Laguerra and
Raymond Soto, Sr. pleaded guilty to bank larceny involving the theft of an armored car and over
$500,000 from the car on November 2, 2018 in Valley Stream. Laguerra was an employee of
GardaWorld, the owner of the armored car. Today’s pleas took place before United States
Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields. An additional defendant, Raymond Soto, Jr., pleaded guilty
on March 18, 2019 to bank larceny.

According to prosecutors, Laguerra worked as an employee of GardaWorld, the owner of the armored car, and used his knowledge of the company to plot and carry out the theft. Laguerra was assigned to the driver of the car for the overnight shift, and purposefully left it empty and unguarded outside of a bank in Valley Stream.

Soto Jr. got into the car and drove it a short distance away. He then stole three bags of cash from inside, which contained $510,000. Soto Sr., who was driving the getaway car, picked up his son and the cash and fled the scene. Police recovered $130,000 of the cash in Soto Sr.'s home.

“This inside job will now land these three defendants inside prison for long enough for them to realize, over and over, what a stupid idea this was,” said United States Attorney William Donoghue. “We commend the Nassau County Police Department and the FBI for quickly solving this crime and demonstrating, once again, that crime doesn’t pay.”

When sentenced, all three face up to 10 years in prison, as well as forfeiture of $300,000, restitution of $510,000 and a fine of up to $250,000.