Two charged with shooting armored car guard, taking $140,000, may be linked to similar robberies, said police spokesman Anthony Batts.
A federal grand jury on Tuesday charged a former city police officer and a former sheriff’s deputy with the March 21 shooting of an armored truck guard, the FBI said.
The charges came a day after the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced three other similar shootings.
A third suspect in one of the robberies is also charged, Batts said. “They’re going to have a fair number of people with them that will be indicted as well.”
Police arrested the former officer, Jason Dix, after he and the deputy were charged in a criminal complaint filed by the FBI.
Both men were charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a federal crime.
The charges could bring up to 20 years in prison for Dix if convicted. If convicted, the men each face up to 10 years in prison.
Jason Dix shot a guard with a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol inside the National Association of Postal Employees credit union in the 7th District, south of St. Paul, about 11:15 a.m. March 21, police said.
He later fled with more than $140,000, cash and three vehicles, police said. The vehicle that contained the money is now the subject of a $50,000 insurance claim.
Dix shot the guard in the arm and the leg before trying to flee in a stolen 2014 white Chevy Tahoe, which was later stolen in a carjacking, Batts said.
The FBI also arrested the former sheriff’s deputy, Brian Johnson, who lived in the area and was supposed to serve as a backup in the robbery, Batts said.
He has been charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a federal crime, he said.
Prosecutors will present evidence to a grand jury first on April 13 and then again on Wednesday.
Both Dix and