Jury Convicts Santa Rosa Man of Armed Robbery of the Garda Armored Car Warehouse

SAN FRANCISCO—Today, a federal jury convicted Monico Dominguez of one count of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, two counts of conspiring to commit robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, three counts of money laundering, and one count of structuring, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.

The jury found that on August 11, 2011, Dominguez committed an armed robbery of the Garda Cash Logistics warehouse in Santa Rosa, California, that he laundered and structured the substantial cash proceeds from that robbery, and that he attempted to commit a second robbery at that same facility on August 6, 2012. The guilty verdict followed a two week jury trial before the Honorable Edward M. Chen, United States District Court Judge.

Evidence at trial showed that on August 11, 2011, Dominguez and an accomplice dove under the closing garage door of the Garda warehouse as an armored car was returning from the night shift and that Dominguez held up the guards with an AK-47 assault rifle before tying them up and entering the vault. Dominguez stuffed just over $909,000 in cash into a duffel bag before fleeing the scene. Dominguez got away with this heist for approximately one year, during which he opened new bank accounts, made substantial cash deposits, and purchased multiple Harley Davidson motorcycles, cars, and expensive construction equipment. The evidence at trial showed that on August 6, 2012, Dominguez set in motion a plan to steal an armored car from the Garda warehouse, but the robbery was foiled before it could happen with the assistance of a confidential informant who had reported Dominguez’s plan to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Santa Rosa Police Department.

Dominguez, of Santa Rosa, was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 29, 2012. Dominguez will remain in custody pending sentencing. Dominguez’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 14, 2014, before Judge Chen in San Francisco.

The maximum statutory penalties for robbery, attempted robbery, and conspiring to commit a robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), are a prison term of 20 years, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.

The maximum statutory penalties for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), are a prison term of life, a fine of $250,000, and five years of supervised release.

The maximum statutory penalties for money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957, are a prison term of 10 years, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.

The maximum statutory penalties for structuring, in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324, are a prison term of five years, a fine of $500,000, and three years of supervised release.

However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Luskey and Ben Tolkoff prosecuted this case with the assistance of Daniel Charlier-Smith and Christine Tian. This prosecution is the result of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Santa Rosa Police Department.