WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina |Suspect in armored car heist denied bond

Suspect in armored car heist denied bond

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - The Richland County Sheriff's Department announced Thursday that two arrests have been made in the nation's third largest armored car heist in history. The robbery took place in May of 2007, right here in Columbia, South Carolina. 

One of the suspects, Dominic Lyde, was denied bond Friday evening.

Officials say after the heist, Lyde hit the road with his share of the money, grew a beard and got a fake ID. Lyde also made friends with a stripper who would ultimately turn on him after the two got into a fight at a North Carolina motel this week.

Investigators with the Fayetteville Police Department in North Carolina arrested him in Fayetteville late Wednesday at the motel, the Coliseum Inn.

WIS News 10's Brandi Cummings spoke to the property manager of that inn. He said Lyde and Terry Pitts, a local stripper, checked in January third. The property manager says Terry showed her ID to check in, and always paid in cash.

The night they first checked in was the only time the property manager came face to face with Lyde. During the encounter, he says Lyde was low-key, and looked suspicious. He describes Lyde as "very quiet."

He did, however, see Pitts often. He says she told him she was always working, and the one to pay the rent.

Terry checked out Tuesday morning, the same day she filed a police report saying she had been assaulted and her car had been stolen. Wednesday she came back, with police officers.

The property manager says Pitts didn't know Lyde was wanted.

Lyde's warrants included robbery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and assault and battery.

Initially, when officers found Lyde, they say he gave a fictitious name and ID card. When confronted, he admitted his true identity.

A stolen handgun was recovered from the room and Lyde was handed over to US Marshals. He is currently in the Cumberland County Detention Center in North Carolina awaiting extradition.

In response to the news of his arrest, Lyde's grandmother spoke to WIS News 10's Dan Tordjman from behind her closed door. "Don't care what the sheriff's department says."

"They don't know," she said. "They're only going by what somebody tells them."

Dan asks, "Is Dominic a good kid?"

"As far as I know he was a good kid. Any child makes mistakes," she responded.

Kendrick Jarrod King, 22, of Darlington, was also arrested Thursday and charged with accessory to a felony after the fact. His bond has since been set at $70,000 surety. King may post 10 percent.

The heist was one of the largest in US history. Nearly $10 million was stolen, and the driver of the truck was beaten.

At the end, a total of eight people were involved, seven men and a woman.

The truck, owned by a company then known as Express Teller Armored Services, was carrying more than $18 million. It had stopped for gas at a Circle K store at Atlas and Bluff Roads.

One of the two men in that truck was approached by a gunman who ordered him back into the vehicle. The truck was driven to White House Road where other men were waiting, including two brothers.

In the robbery the truck's driver, David Jones, was severely beaten and is still dealing with the psychological trauma of being victimized. "My nose was broke ... my eyes. And my tooth was knocked out and my jaw was messed up. I mean the blood was coming."

The robbers made off with millions. Some of the cash was handed out to friends and family; some spent for shoes, tattoos and strippers.

Investigators later determined the second man in the truck was actually involved in the robbery plan.

Another person, Derrick Benjamin, 19, remains on the loose. Sheriff Lott explains what happened: "Jeremy McPhail had some of the money in his residence. His mother questioned what the containers were that were in the house. He got them out of the house, went to his friend, Mr. Benjamin, and said 'how about hold this for me?' He held it, and took off with it - stole the money. He stole the stolen money. No honor among thieves," said Lott.

So according to Sheriff Lott, Derrick Benjamin "stole the stolen money from Jeremy McPhail, one of the original robbers."

And there's quite a bit of that money still missing.

"We still have over $4 million that has not been recovered, so we have a large sum of money that's out there somewhere that we're trying to find," said Lott.

But David Jones is still ecstatic. Jones says for the first time since the robbery he does not have to worry a knock or bang at the door could be the robbers coming back. Most of all, he says, he is happy this may soon be over.

Previous Stories:

• Two defendants in '07 armored car heist plead guilty
• "America's Most Wanted" featuring SC armored car heist
• Millions still missing in armored car heist
• Two employees, three college students charged in armored car heist

Posted by Bryce Mursch