Inside the Brink’s heist: how alleged burglars behind $100-million theft were caught

, Daniel Miller, Brittny Mejia and Richard Winton

Oct. 17, 2025 1:05 PM PT

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In June, seven men from the Los Angeles area were indicted on theft and conspiracy to commit theft charges for their alleged roles in the July 2022 Brink’s heist.

At a truck stop along the Grapevine, they pulled off what is believed to be the biggest jewelry heist in U.S. history and vanished into the predawn dark.

But one of them had already made a critical mistake. Investigators tracked pings from mobile phones connecting to towers along the route taken by a Brink’s 18-wheeler, leading to a break in the case.

California

Brenda Elizondo

Brenda Elizondo is an audience engagement fellow at the Los Angeles Times. She was previously a video content creator and reporter for L.A. Times Food and De Los, the Latinidad section. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton.

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller is an enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times, working on investigations and features focused on education. An L.A. native and UCLA graduate, he joined the staff in 2013.

Brittny Mejia

Brittny Mejia is a Metro reporter covering federal courts for the Los Angeles Times. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2021 for her investigation with colleague Jack Dolan that exposed failures in Los Angeles County’s safety-net healthcare system. She joined The Times in 2014.

Richard Winton

Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Known as @lacrimes on Twitter, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016.