An armed robber with a history of violence dating back to the 1990s pleaded guilty Monday to a brazen Brinks truck robbery in Queens that netted more than half a million dollars.
David Ortiz, 49, admitted in Brooklyn Federal Court to sticking up the armored truck outside a Bank of America at Linden Blvd. and 205th St. in St. Albans on June 2, 2025.
A second robber remains at large and, prosecutors said, the $542,000 score has never been recovered.
“On June 2, 2025 in Queens, I agreed to rob Brinks security officers of money that was being taken into Bank of America,” the Brooklyn resident told Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.
Ortiz, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery, bank robbery, and using a firearm in a crime of violence, could face between 12 and 13-and-a-half years behind bars, based on federal sentencing guidelines. The gun charge carries a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison.
Ortiz, who never gave up his accomplice, winced and shrugged as Assistant U.S. Attorney Brachah Goykadosh insisted that he admit, as part of his plea, he agreed “with someone else” and pointed a gun in further of the robbery conspiracy.
“Yes,” he admitted, tersely.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Police investigate a Brinks truck robbery outside a bank on Linden Blvd. in Queens on June 2, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
Ortiz and his accomplice parked in front of the bank in a dark Chevrolet SUV with no front or rear plates at 8:08 a.m., and waited for the Brinks truck to arrive at 8:43 a.m., according to court filings. Two Brinks employees got out, with a money bag in a hand truck, and the robbers burst out of the Chevy, guns in hand.
“Get down, get down, get down. We are not here to kill anyone. We just want the money,” Oritz said, as he took one of the Brinks employee’s service weapon. His accomplice took the money bag and put it in the Chevy, and both drove off.
They parked near the intersection of Hilburn Ave. and Dunkirk St., where they attached a Texas plate to the Chevy and walked away with the cash. Ortiz then returned at about 2:30 p.m. to retrieve the vehicle.
“This calculated crime may have looked like a scene out a movie, but it was terrifyingly real, and placed the victims in fear for their lives,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said Monday.
Ortiz was busted in upstate New York in August.
He has a lengthy criminal history, including a 1993 attempted murder conviction which landed him behind bars for 12 years, and multiple weapon possession convictions.
He’s slated to be sentenced Oct. 5.