Employee Of Dunbar Armored, Inc. Sentenced For Role In Armored Truck Robberies

ATLANTA – Veronica Bullard has been sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison for her role in the commission of a series of armored truck robberies in the Atlanta area between October 2010 and March 2011.

“Bullard chose to endanger many of her co-workers’ lives as well as guards from other armored car companies,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.  “The inside information she gained in her position at Dunbar Armored, Inc., a local armored truck service, fueled a crime spree that left one man dead and another seriously injured.  She thought nothing of the escalating violence in each attack.  Instead, she continued to abuse her position and access to information all motivated by pure greed.  Bullard deserves time in prison, and will now get it.”

J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “This defendant’s actions were despicable and her betrayal to her employer and the courier industry as a whole led to the injury of one courier and the fatal shooting of Garda courier Gary Castillo.  Today’s sentencing will not only hold Ms. Bullard accountable for those actions but will give her much opportunity to reflect on the great harm to others that those actions caused.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: The defendant, Veronica Bullard, was an employee of Dunbar Armored in 2010.  Bullard provided information to co-defendants Quentin Booker and Stacey Dooley about the location and amount of cash handled during Dunbar Armored cash pick-ups.  This information was used them to plan and to execute multiple robberies of Dunbar Armored couriers.  During the robberies, one or two gunmen would approach a courier after the courier made a cash pick-up from a location, or as the courier was about to restock an ATM machine with cash.  Other members of the robbery crew would act as lookouts during the robberies, with one acting as the designated getaway driver.

The information Bullard provided to the robbers was also used to target couriers from other armored car companies.  As the number of robberies escalated, so did the level of violence.  In fact, during the robbery of a Loomis Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on January 21, 2011, at a Wells Fargo Bank located in Stone Mountain, Ga., co-defendant Ashley Henderson shot and seriously injured the courier.  During the robbery of a Garda Cash Logistics courier outside the Kroger Grocery Store located on LaVista Road in DeKalb County, Ga., Ashley Henderson fatally shot the courier, Gary Castillo, after Castillo made a cash pick-up of $11,000 from the store.  Altogether, members of this robbing crew were responsible for six robberies involving thefts of over $470,000.

The evidence established that Bullard and her co-conspirators were specifically involved in the commission of the following robbery:

• The robbery of a Dunbar Armored courier just after he made a cash pick-up on October 7, 2010, at the Mex America Latino Services located in Marietta, Ga.

• The evidence further established that Bullard’s co-conspirators were involved in the commission of the following additional robberies:

• The robbery of a Dunbar Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on November 11, 2010, at a Bank of America located in Buford, Ga.;

• The robbery of a Loomis Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on November 29, 2010, at a Wells Fargo Bank located in Snellville, Ga.;

• The robbery of a Dunbar Armored courier who was heading to an ATM machine to restock it with cash inside the Mall of Georgia on December 7, 2010;

• The robbery of a Loomis Armored courier who was restocking cash in an ATM machine on January 21, 2011, at a Wells Fargo Bank located in Stone Mountain, Ga.; and

• The robbery of a Garda Cash Logistics courier on March 15, 2011, outside the Kroger Grocery Store located on LaVista Road in DeKalb County, Ga.

Bullard was sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  She was also ordered to pay $104,694 in restitution. Bullard pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery (armed robbery of a Dunbar courier).    

In addition to Bullard, the following defendants have also entered guilty pleas as a result of their role in the robberies:

• Ashley Henderson, 30 of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to five counts of Hobbs Act robbery (armed robbery of the couriers) and three counts of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.  He was sentenced to 75 years in prison.

• Stacey Dooley, 37, originally from Charlotte, NC, pleaded guilty to six counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.  He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

• Quentin Booker, 36, of Douglasville, Ga., pleaded guilty to five counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.  He was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

• Edwin Thornton, 31, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to three counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.  He was sentenced to 15 years and 10 months in prison.

• Michael Johnson, 31, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

• Ronnie Little, 22, of Stone Mountain, Ga., pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison.

• Desiree Jones, 29, of Snellville, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawfully transferring a firearm knowing it would be used in a crime of violence and received a sentence of five years in federal prison. 

• Derrick Powell, 26, of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of carrying and using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, 2014.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with significant assistance and resources provided by the Gwinnett Police Department.  Other departments providing invaluable assistance were the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office, the DeKalb County Police Department, the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, the Marietta Police Department, and the Cobb County District Attorney's Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Tracia M. King and Jill E. Steinberg are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.