SWANSEA, Mass. — Two armed men suspected of robbing a courier who was carrying more than $436,000 in cash pickups from multiple cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts, along with their getaway driver, are facing criminal charges after federal investigators executed search warrants at their homes on Wednesday, court documents show.
Steven Madison, Christopher White, and Quentin McDonald were charged with robbery, maliciously damaging or destroying, and conspiracy, according to a complaint filed in the United States District Court of Massachusetts. Madison and White are also facing a charge of felon in possession of a firearm.
Residents of Beebe Road in Bridgewater told Boston 25 News that they woke up to the sound of flash bangs around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday as law enforcement officers, including ATF agents, raided Madison’s home.
Investigators said they found phones connected to the robbery, a gun, and a newly purchased Rolex.
“I heard that first bang, woke me up. I Heard the second bang, and jumped out of bed,” neighborhood resident,” Lauren Lang recalled.
White was arrested at his home in Raynham, while McDonald was nabbed at his home in Brockton, federal agents said.
The courier, who was driving a Ford Explorer loaded with multiple cash pickups from cannabis dispensaries including Provincetown, Wellfleet, Plymouth, Middleboro, and Fall River, pulled up to Bay Coast Bank in Swansea to deposit the money at 12:36 p.m. on February 19, documents indicated. Because the bank was closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday, the driver planned to leave the money in an overnight drop bin.
“According to a review of the manifests, the courier was carrying approximately $436,200.89 in cash for deposit at the Bay Coast Bank and another area bank that morning,” the complaint stated. “Just over $373,000 of this amount was cash that had been picked up by the courier in the stop at a dispensary in Fall River immediately preceding the attempted deposit at the Bay Coast Bank.”
Two minutes later, at 12:38 p.m., a U-Haul van with an Arizona registration entered the bank parking lot and pulled up next to the courier’s vehicle. Two masked men then exited the van, restrained the courier with zip ties, sprayed pepper spray in his face, and fled with bags of cash, the documents stated.
The suspect tried unsuccessfully to take the courier’s gun and left him in the backseat of the SUV. The courier managed to fire three shots as the U-Haul drove away.
Investigators believe the suspects had been scoping out the bank for hours from the parking lot of Prime Storage and awaiting the courier’s arrival.
About a mile away from the bank on Reed Road, investigators say the suspects set fire to the U-Haul. A man told police that he saw the suspects ditch the burning vehicle and get into a Jeep Grand Cherokee that nearly struck him as it sped off, according to the documents.
After the robbery, investigators combed through surveillance video, RMV records, and T-Mobile tower data, ultimately leading them to Madison, White, and McDonald.
It’s alleged that Madison and White conducted the robbery, while McDonald served as the getaway driver.
“A review of the available data shows that during the relevant time periods, all three devices connected with towers consistent with them being present at the theft of the U-Haul, at the robbery, and at the burning of the U-Haul,” Special Agent Eric Mercer wrote in a criminal complaint. “A review of the location records and call detail records show that on the morning of February 19, Madison’s phone connected with towers consistent with traveling to White’s apartment in Raynham. Afterward, the records show tower connections consistent with Madison and White traveling to Swansea. Records for McDonald’s phone show that his phone traveled from his home in Brockton to Swansea that morning as well.”
According to Mercer, the T-Mobile data led investigators to Abington, where it was determined that the U-Haul had been stolen before the robbery.
Fire investigators say they found Pepper spray in the torched U-Haul. During the raids on the suspects’ homes, firearms, cash, zip ties, and masks were recovered, investigators noted.
All three suspects faced a judge after their arrests. Details on the court hearings weren’t immediately available.
An investigation remains ongoing.
Courier Robbery Paperwork 5-8-24 by Boston 25 Desk on Scribd
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