BEVERLY HILLS : Reward Raised to $100,000 in Slaying of Brinks Guard

Brinks Inc. is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man wanted in the Sept. 6 slaying of one of its armed guards.

The guard, Dennie Plese, was shot in the back of the head at close range as he delivered bags of money to Manufacturers Bank at 9701 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills police say the gunman ambushed Plese at about 8:40 a.m., before the bank had opened.

The gunman escaped with an undisclosed sum. Plese, 61, died in the lobby of the building.

Initially the armored car company had offered $10,000 but raised the reward to $50,000 two days after the fatal robbery, and then to $100,000 last week.

“Sometimes at $10,000 (witnesses) are scared to come forward. At $50,000, they may be still a little too scared. But $100,000--they’ll call us,” said Domminck Deiro, a Brinks security officer.

Police said they are checking out several leads that have been telephoned to a hot line: (310) 288-2650.

A sketch of the gunman has been circulated. He is described as white or Latino, in his early to mid-30s, between 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with black hair and a mustache and a long, narrow face. He has a medium build and was wearing a dress shirt, tie and dark pants at the time of the shooting.

Plese, of Valencia, was a 36-year veteran of the Brinks company. He spent most of his career as a messenger, in charge of walking the money from the armored car into financial institutions, Brinks officials said.

He was the third Brinks employee killed on duty since 1976 in the Los Angeles vicinity, Deiro said.