Third suspect arraigned in theft of armored truck

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A third suspect in the theft of an armored truck from outside the Valley Stream HSBC branch on Sunrise Highway was arraigned on Jan. 2.

Raymond Soto Jr. pleaded not guilty and was ordered detained by United States Magistrate Judge Anne Shields. His father, Raymond Soto Sr., and Alexis Laguerra previously pleaded not guilty for the crime.

According to federal prosecutors, Alexis Laguerra was working for Gardaworld, a corporation that operates armored cars carrying cash and other valuables, when he devised a scheme to steal more than $500,000 dollars from the HSBC bank on Nov. 2.

Court documents state that Laguerra and Raymond Soto Sr. and Raymond Soto Jr. reported the armored truck was stolen before stealing three bags containing $170,000 each from the bank. The truck was abandoned on South Central Avenue shortly after, according to Nassau County police.

The documents further allege that Soto Jr. that morning instructed Laguerra to delete a text message exchange about the alleged theft in an attempt to “alter, destroy, mutilate and conceal a record, document and other object.”

Soto Sr. and Laguerra were arrested in December, when Soto Jr. was a fugitive. Soto Jr. surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Jan. 2.

Soto Jr.’s bail hearing was scheduled for Jan. 3, after press time.