Livingston, New Jersey

From New York’s 7Online.com of February 14, 2006

Bullets fly during attempted armored car robbery

Three suspects taken into custody

As the suspects fired shots at the truck, the guards inside fired back. The incident started in Livingston and ended in South Orange.

That's where we find Eyewitness News reporter Anthony Johnson.

The FBI is in charge of this investigation. The getaway vehicle, a black Jeep Cherokee was still taped off as FBI agents began to comb the area looking for more clues, but we understand that all three suspects have been taken into custody.

The drama ended in an open area at the end of Church Street in South Orange. That's where cops used bloodhounds and tracked down the last suspect in what apparently started as a robbery of an armored car or a Bank of America branch on South Livingston Avenue.

There was a shoot out between the suspects and the guards. One suspect was shot in the thigh and one of the armored car guards was hit but his bulletproof vest apparently stopped the bullet.

The suspects fled in the black Jeep Cherokee, traveling about five miles southwest with cops in hot pursuit. Two of the suspects were quickly apprehended, the armored car was left about a block and a half away from the bank.

The SUV was taped off as police launched a massive manhunt and the third suspect was finally caught.

From PhillyBurbs.com of February 15, 2006

Four accused in botched robbery, including driver of armored car

A day after leading police on a chase through three towns, suspects accused of robbing an armored car were expected in court expected to face charges. The four suspects include the armored car's driver, authorities said Wednesday

The suspects are accused of leading police on a chase Tuesday through three northern New Jersey towns before the pursuit ended with the cash scattered in a field.

The robbery attempt began at 2:25 p.m. at a Bank of America branch in Livingston as two employees of Dunbar Armored Car Service were making a pickup, Livingston police Chief Michael Erb said.

The employees returned to the car, and found two would-be robbers waiting, said Special Agent Steve Siegel, spokesman for the FBI's Newark office.

The suspects fired several gunshots inside the car, Siegel said. A bulletproof vest saved the Dunbar employee in the passenger seat from serious injuries. Authorities, who declined to release that employee's name, say he was not involved in the robbery.

"When he saw individuals were in the back of the truck and attempted to take over, he reached for his gun and that's when assailants shot at him," Siegel said.

A police chase ensued through Livingston, Millburn and South Orange before the Jeep collided with a car driven by a South Orange detective, left the roadway and came to a halt, Erb said.

Authorities say the armored car's driver, Evrol Dean, 42, of Newark, was part of the heist.