One of two Brink's truck drivers was snoozing when thieves pulled off a multi-million dollar jewelry heist last month at a freeway truck stop north of Los Angeles, according to a lawsuit filed by the security company.
The claim was publicly revealed in a lawsuit filed by Brink's against more than a dozen jewelers whose items were stolen in the break-in and theft at the Flying J truck stop in Lebec, about 75 miles north of LA.
The lawsuit also claims that the other driver was getting food inside the truck stop July 11 when thieves made off with bags of gems, gold and other valuable items being transported from San Mateo to the International Gem and Jewelry Show in Southern California.
The heist took place during an approximately 30-minute window and is now the subject of two lawsuits filed in August. Depending on which of multiple value estimates is correct, it could be one of the largest jewel thefts in modern history.
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Brink's filed its federal lawsuit Aug. 4 in New York. On Monday, 14 jewelers and jewelry companies filed their own lawsuit, alleging breach of contract and negligence against Brink’s in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
"The two armed Brinks guards providing that security failed miserably," the plaintiffs' lawsuit states. "One left a truckload of jewelry and gemstone for a half-hour completely out of his sight at a remote truck stop while he was buying food, and the other literally was asleep on the job, snoozing away just a few feet from where thieves were stealing approximately $100 million of Plaintiffs' property."
In its lawsuit, Brink's stated that the pickup manifests signed by the jewelers reported a total of $8.7 million worth of merchandise in the 22 stolen bags, the Associated Press reported. The lawsuit alleges that the jewelers under-declared the value of the items that were being transported and the company is only responsible for the declared value.
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Brink's is seeking to limit potential payouts to the jewelers, who say their cargo was worth $100 million and that the security company is trying to deny compensation to its customers for a theft "its drivers practically invited to happen.”
“Everyone in our group has been emotionally and financially destroyed," the plaintiffs said in a statement on Tuesday. "We are lost and do not know what comes next in our lives. Whatever plans we all have for the future for our businesses and our families has evaporated in an instant.”
A spokesperson for Brink’s declined to comment to The Associated Press on Tuesday, citing the pending litigation. The Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant who is investigating the case did not respond to a request for comment.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the lawsuits on Tuesday.
Brink's lawsuit states that the driver left his partner in the big rig's sleeping berth while he went to get food — a move the company says was “per Department of Transportation regulations.”
He was gone for 27 minutes and returned to find the lock broken, though the sleeping driver said he hadn't seen or heard anything unusual, according to the lawsuit. It was not immediately clear whether the driver was supposed to be gone for so long, and if the sleeping berth is sound-proof.
In their lawsuit, the “mom and pop” jewelers are seeking $100 million in damages and $100 million in restitution from Brink's. The jewelers allege that a Brink's employee told them to under-value their merchandise on the pickup manifests “in order to save money, because the cost of shipping would be too expensive if they declared the full value of their goods.”
“We are astounded by Brink’s lack of support for their longtime customers who thought they were in safe hands with Brink’s,” Jerry Kroll, an attorney for the jewelers, said in a statement to the Associated Press. “After relying on Brink’s for their guarded transportation services, our clients have lost virtually everything in this theft, including their source of income.”
NBCLA also has reached out to the jewelers' attorney for comment.
