Southwest Florida authorities are searching for three men they believe robbed an armored Brinks delivery truck outside an East Naples bank Wednesday and fled in a getaway vehicle while a Brinks employee fired at them.
The robbery occurred around 9:30 a.m. outside the front door of the Wachovia Bank at 12609 U.S. 41 E. The bank is by The Shops at Eagle Creek near the Collier Boulevard turn-off to Marco Island, the Collier County Sheriff's Office reported.
'This all happened outside the bank,'' Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Michelle Batten said.
A Brinks employee was outside the armored truck and a second Brinks employee was inside the truck at the time of the robbery, Batten said. The employee outside the truck had the back door open when he was approached from behind by a Hispanic man.
'He tells him not to move and takes his gun,' Batten said.
The robber went inside the Brinks truck, took an undisclosed amount of cash, loaded it into a green Ford Expedition with two other Hispanic men inside, and fled the scene, authorities said.
'The Brinks employee who was inside the truck started firing his gun at the windshield (of the Ford),' Batten said.
The get-away vehicle with a Hialeah license plate was left nearby behind the Prime Outlet mall along Collier Boulevard, Batten said. Collier deputies searched for the three suspects by ground and air.
'We're just always very happy to hear no employees or customers were injured or harmed,' Wachovia spokeswoman Kathy Harrison said. 'We're fully cooperating with authorities as well as our own internal investigation, and Brinks' as well.'
Brinks spokesman Ed Cunningham said he couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation. Cunningham said Brinks employees go through rigorous training, but would not comment on the details of the training.
'First and foremost, what we're concerned about is our employees go home to their families safe every night,' Cunningham said. 'We're glad to see that's the case.'
Investigators continued to follow leads throughout the day Wednesday, the Sheriff's Office reported. Deputies coordinated their efforts with the Violent Crimes Task Force in Miami, and are obtaining a search warrant to process the Ford used in the robbery.
The gun stolen from the Brinks employee has not been recovered, authorities said.
Jesse Fritz, 72, was inside his car at one of drive-up tellers at the time of the robbery but didn't see anything.
'I usually go inside, which I'm glad I didn't,' he said. ''I heard a pop-pop. It sounded like a 9 mm or a 22-(caliber).'
There's a lot of construction work in the area so initially he didn't think much of it, he said. He thought he heard four shots, two at a time.
The bank was closed Wednesday morning, and the Sheriff's Office had the area sealed off with crime scene tape. The bank reopened around 2 p.m., Harrison said.
Doug McDowell, manager of the Subway shop near the bank, was concerned that his lunchtime business would be destroyed.
'Who would want to drive this way?' he asked.
The Sheriff's Office described the suspect who stole the Brinks employee's gun as a 45-to-50-year-old, 5-foot-5 Hispanic male, weighing 150 to 160 pounds with short black hair, a medium complexion and a muscular build. At the time of the robbery he was wearing a short-sleeve white dress shirt, black dress pants and black shoes.
This is not the first Brinks truck to be robbed in Southwest Florida in recent years.
In March 2007, two men attempted to rob a Brinks truck at the Wachovia Bank at 820 Park Shore Drive, and one of the robbers fired shots at a Brinks employee. Three months later a robber attacked a Brinks courier and ran off with cash outside of the Wachovia Bank at the intersection of Airport-Pulling and Radio roads.
Two men in ski masks fired shots at a Brinks employee at a Fort Myers Bank of America in August 2007 during an attempted robbery.
Officials said they didn't have any information to link Wednesday's robbery with previous heists. Harrison said Wachovia officials don't believe the Brinks thefts are a trend.
But the number of Brinks robberies in Southwest Florida was not lost on Brinks employees.
'Certainly it's a concern,' Cunningham said.
Anyone with information about Wednesday's robbery should call the Collier Sheriff's Office at (239) 793-9300 or if you wish to remain anonymous call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).