A newlywed couple from Fort Worth has been indicted on federal charges after allegedly robbing an armored truck in December.
According to court documents, 38-year-old Lakee Ealey and 33-year-old Crystal Ealey were indicted for interference with commerce by robbery, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The couple was indicted by a federal grand jury in Amarillo.
In addition to Lakee and Crystal Ealey, who were married on March 19, 2019, 21-year-old Rodrick Rashad McKinney also was indicted on the same federal charges.
According to court documents, the three suspects are accused of stealing almost $1 million from a Brink’s armored truck in Coppell on Dec. 21, 2019.
The incident occurred at 8:15 a.m. in the ATM drive-through at a Chase Bank located at 616 North Denton Tap Road.
A Brink’s employee left the Irving facility at 6 a.m. and stopped in Flower Mound and Lewisville before stopping at the Coppell drive-through.
While servicing the ATM, the employee was approached by an armed man wearing a mask and dark clothes. Three other armed robbers, all wearing masks and dark clothes, also approached the employee.
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The first suspect instructed the employee to get on the ground, at which point one of the robbers left the scene and returned in a black truck that was parked nearby, according to court documents.
The robbers then demanded that the employee show them how to access the armored truck’s security door. Three suspects entered the truck and took money from inside the vehicle while a fourth suspect kept watch.
After taking $933,000 from inside the armored truck, the four robbers fled the scene in their vehicle, according to court documents.
Local, state and federal authorities were able to locate the suspects using cell phone records and surveillance videos.
According to court documents, Crystal Ealey had worked as a Brink’s messenger, but she was fired by in June 2019. An internal investigation into the loss of approximately $25,000 from the company led to Ealey's termination, but no charges were filed against her.
The three suspects are currently being held in the Kaufman County Jail. If convicted, they face up to 47 years in federal prison.
