The gunman who plotted a brazen broad daylight armed robbery of a Brinks armored truck in St. Albans in June 2025, pleaded guilty Monday in Brooklyn federal court to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and other related crimes.
David Ortiz, 49, of Brooklyn and Texas, admitted he and an accomplice brandished firearms during the heist outside a Bank of America branch located at 205-02 Linden Blvd. and made off with more than $500,000, while his partner in crime remains at large at the stolen cash was never recovered.
“The defendant planned and carried out a violent armed robbery in broad daylight, threatening Brinks armored truck employees with a firearm while stealing more than a half a million dollars destined for a neighborhood bank,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said. “This calculated crime may have looked like a scene out of a movie, but it was terrifyingly real and placed the victims in fear for their lives. Today’s guilty plea ensures the defendant will face the consequences of his violent actions.”
According to court filings and statements made during the plea hearing, on the morning of June 2, 2025, at 8:43 a.m., Ortiz and an accomplice, both wearing masks and armed with guns, staged an ambush outside the Bank of America branch at the corner of 205th Street and Linden Boulevard in St. Albans. The pair arrived before the scheduled cash delivery and waited for Brinks employees to transport money from the armored truck into the bank. When the employees began wheeling a bag of cash towards the bank entrance, Ortiz pulled out his firearm, ordered the employees to the ground, and stole the service weapon of one of the armored car guards. At the same time, Ortiz’s accomplice loaded the bag containing approximately $542,000 into a Chevrolet sport utility vehicle which did not have license plates. The two men then fled in the SUV with the stolen cash. The NYPD later recovered a mask, a jacket, and a firearm discarded by Ortiz in the vicinity of Hillburn Avenue and Dunkirk Street in St. Albans, just over a mile west of the crime scene.
“This defendant planned and executed an armed robbery outside a bank in Queens, threatening employees at gunpoint and stealing more than $500,000 from an armored truck,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “He thought he could get away with this dramatic crime, but his plan was no match for the skilled NYPD detectives and investigative tools they used to track and arrest him. I thank our investigators and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for working to hold this criminal accountable.”
Ortiz also pled guilty to bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. When sentenced on Oct. 5, Ortiz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison for brandishing a firearm, in addition to any sentence imposed for the bank robbery charges, and restitution.
“This was a brazen, violent crime that put innocent people in immediate danger,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge, New York Field Office, James Barnacle, said. “The FBI and NYPD moved quickly to track down David Ortiz to ensure he faced federal charges. Violent robberies have absolutely no place in New York, and we will not hesitate to go after those who threaten our communities. Our work with our partners has led to this guilty plea.”