The 1997 Dunbar Armored Heist
When an inside job led to the largest cash robbery in U.S. history.
Just after midnight on September 13, 1997, a robbery was committed that would become the most significant theft of cash in United States history.
In the time before the theft, Allen Pace, 30, the mastermind behind it, got a position at Dunbar as a regional safety inspector. While on the job, he photographed and examined the company’s Los Angeles armored car depot. For the crime, Pace recruited five of his childhood friends.
Interestingly, just a day before the heist, Pace was fired from his post, the reasons for it were undisclosed. Though, this hardly dissuaded him from continuing with the holdup.
So, after hanging out for a few hours at a house party in Long Beach to establish their alibis, it was time for zero hour. Slipping away, changing into black clothes and masks, they headed for their prize. So, just after midnight, the crew hit the depot. Since Pace knew that the vault was left open due to the massive amounts of money was going to be moved, he used his keys to gain admittance to the facility. During this time Pace timed the security cameras and determined how could avoid their detection. Once inside the facility, the team waited within the staff cafeteria, where they ambushed the guards one by…
