3 plead guilty to theft of $8.4M

3 plead guilty to theft of $8.4M

The couple could get up to 25 years in prison, and Dillon’s mother could get 15 years.

AKRON (AP) — A man, his girlfriend and his mother pleaded guilty Friday in the theft of about $8.4 million from an armored-car company where he worked near Youngstown.

Roger Dillon, 23, and his girlfriend, Nicole Boyd, 25, both of Youngstown, had told investigators earlier they stole the money to escape financial hardship and make a better life.

Dillon and Boyd pleaded guilty to bank larceny, conspiracy to pull off the scheme and taking the money out of state. Each faces up to 25 years in prison at their sentencing in May.

Dillon’s mother, Sharon Lee Gregory, 49, of Youngstown, could get up to 15 years after pleading guilty to charges that she conspired with the two and helped the couple make their getaway with the money to West Virginia.

The FBI has said the theft at AT Systems was timed so that large amounts of money would be available after the busy post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend.

Dillon had been employed by the company for about nine months as a driver/messenger. He has said in court documents that he stole the cash and checks from a company building using another employee’s security code on Nov. 26.

About $6.7 million in cash was taken, according to an FBI agent who detailed the allegations in court in January. The rest was in checks.

The plea agreements disclosed that Dillon financed the plan with $50,000 smuggled out of a JP Morgan Chase Bank in Akron on Aug. 8 during an armored-car pickup.

The cash and checks were found stacked in a mobile home where the couple fled about 250 miles away in Pipestem, W.Va. All but $3,500 was recovered.

The defendants appeared separately before U.S. District Court Judge John R. Adams, who asked each if they understood the charges and possible penalties. The trio mostly limited their responses in court to “yes, sir” and “yes, your honor.”

During a discussion of $200 in special court fees she faced, Gregory’s expression prompted the judge to ask if she understood. She said she couldn’t afford to pay the fees, and the judge said her prison earnings could be used.

The plea agreements signed by each specified that the government would support leniency on one sentencing category — taking responsibility and pleading guilty. The judge emphasized that he could deviate from the complex sentence guidelines.

As part of his deal, Dillon won’t be charged in the $50,000 theft but must make restitution.

On the night of Nov. 26, Dillon, disguised with a cap and hood, entered the building using another employee’s security code, his statement said. He removed a security videotape and kept the lights off in case there was another camera.

He pulled a truck into a garage, loaded it with bags and reset the alarm. The couple drove to West Virginia, where they met Gregory. The trio spent part of the next four days counting the money, and the FBI — tipped by West Virginia receipts found in Boyd’s abandoned pickup truck — showed up one day later.

The couple’s motive was to escape financial problem, including a debt of thousands of dollars, Boyd said in her written statement to investigators.

To cover their tracks, the couple told friends they were moving to Mexico, according to the plea agreements.

After the $50,000 theft, Dillon began considering stealing from the armored car company and began paying close attention to security details, including security codes and when co-workers would be gone, the plea agreement said.

Dillon enlisted Boyd’s help in October and his mother’s The Vindicator/William D. Lewis

BLASTING AWAY: Bill Agnone uses a snow blower in front of his family’s business, Bill’s Auto Body on Mahoning Avenue in Youngstown. For a time on Friday afternoon, snow fell almost as fast as Agnone could clear it away. in November.