Nassau County police announced Thursday morning a $25,000 reward in the botched $1.8 million burglary of a Hicksville armored car company.
Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter said between two and four individuals are still at large. He said they used a sledgehammer and a hydraulic jack to gain access to the money at the warehouse of Loomis Armored Inc., 74 Alpha Plaza, at 10:20 p.m. on Aug. 16.
He said police obtained surveillance video of the suspects, who were all masked.
"It's clear this burglary was interrupted," said Krumpter, saying the vault contained $20 million.
Danny Peck, senior vice president for risk management at Loomis, declined to comment on the case Thursday morning, saying he didn't want to jeopardize the investigation.
"We're very pleased with the officers' response -- there's no question about that," Peck said. "We've been fortunate in that respect."
The gang of "sophisticated" thieves used the tools to rip through the concrete walls and steal the $1.8 million but were foiled by an alert Nassau police officer, who arrested one of the suspects, authorities said Wednesday.
The Second Precinct officer was on patrol that night when he saw a man in the warehouse parking lot acting "suspicious," Krumpter said Wednesday.
The officer, whom police declined to name, arrested Edgar Medina, 53, of Brentwood, who was not armed, at the scene. The cash was in the trunk of Medina's car, Krumpter said.
Medina was charged with third-degree burglary, first-degree grand larceny and possession of burglar tools, police said. He's being held in jail in lieu of $300,000 bond or $150,000 cash bail, according to online court records. An attorney for Medina could not be reached for comment.
According to court documents, Medina said to the arresting officer: "I used a crow bar. It's at the armored place."
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said in a statement Wednesday: "I commend the police officer who stopped this elaborate scheme to steal millions of dollars."
Acting District Attorney Madeline Singas said the heist "could be the stuff of TV fiction," and added: "Detectives have been working tirelessly to finish cracking this case of brazen and wanton greed, but we need the public's help to catch those accountable."
An armed security guard at Loomis declined to comment Thursday.
At Salon Tech Spa, a salon manufacturing company across from Loomis, Steve Mun, the sales manager said: "To find out they had $20 million -- to have such a shabby roller gate -- that's surprising."
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Tribune News Service
