Armored Car Heists Increasing After Quiet Spell

Authorities say that all the heists take a special breed of criminal willing to go up against trained, armed guards for a shot at a big payday. While armored car robberies are played down by authorities as rarely resulting in millions of dollars, they are glorified in Hollywood and conjure up images of treasure for the taking for those bold enough to try. The armored cars have different levels of protection, but often are outfitted with an especially strong steel that would take plasma cutters to penetrate. Among last year's attacks here was an incident in which a guard was shot and wounded at a shopping center and not a cent was taken, and in another incident, $4 million was stolen from an armored car on the University of Houston campus in what authorities said was an inside job. A guard turned robber knew the truck would be loaded with cash, officials said, and that one of its hefty doors would be left unlocked. In yet another attempted armored car robbery last year, outside a theater on Dunvale, a guard was shot in the hip, and a would-be robber was killed. Dennis Franks, a retired FBI agent who now is the Texas managing director for the private security firm, Risk Control Strategies, said armored car robbers tend to be seasoned criminals who are ready for a fight.