Armored Truck Robbery Ringleader Sentenced to 10 Years for Brazen 2019 Broad Daylight Robbery in University City

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jerry Collins, 42, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Gerald A. McHugh for his role in a broad daylight armed robbery of an armored vehicle containing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash nearly three years ago.

In November 2021, the defendant pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and related offenses including using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime in connection with the incident. On August 1, 2019, at approximately 10:00 a.m., Collins’ co-defendant, Tyree Holmes, and another individual, both wearing masks and gloves and armed with semi-automatic weapons, exited a Chevy Trailblazer that had parked behind a Garda armored truck near the 3500 block of Market Street as one of two guards removed three black bags containing a total of $434,000 in United States currency.  As the robbers approached the guard holding the money bags, they pointed their firearms at the guard and announced a robbery while Collins waited nearby in the driver’s seat of the Chevy Trailblazer. Holmes grabbed the bags of money and attempted to get back into the Chevy Trailblazer when both guards drew their firearms and began shooting at the fleeing robbers. During the ensuing gunfire, Holmes dropped the bags of money and fled on foot while the other robber got into the Trailblazer with Collins and fled the scene. Collins and Holmes were both arrested several months later by the Philadelphia Police Department and charged by federal indictment.

“This defendant orchestrated an armed robbery of an armored vehicle in the middle of the day in a busy section of downtown Philadelphia, putting the lives of the guards and many bystanders at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Mr. Collins will now spend years behind bars for this serious and violent offense.”

“This daylight armed heist by Collins and his buddies was as brazen as it was foolish,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division. “The way it all unfolded on that busy block, it's a miracle no one was hurt, or worse, in the gunfire that ensued. I'd like to thank the FBI-PPD Violent Crimes Task Force for their great work on this case. We and our law enforcement partners are fighting day in and day out to get violent criminals off the street and make Philly safer for all.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney José Arteaga.