Prosecutor adds charge in armored van case

FARMINGTON – The father, daughter, and boyfriend who police say were involved in the robbery of an armored van are now facing the same charges.

On Monday, Prosecuting Attorney Wendy Wexler Horn amended the charges against Eugene M. Ford, 58, of St. Louis; and Scott Ian Mackinnon, 25, to add a charge of armed criminal action.

Now the two men and Leann M. Dotson, 22, of Arnold, are each facing charges of first-degree robbery, stealing over $25,000, and armed criminal action.

This morning, the trio had their first court appearance. Associate Court Judge Thomas L. Ray read the charges to Dotson and her father and advised them of their rights. They both stated they did not have an attorney and would like to apply for a public defender. Judge Ray passed their case to Sept. 7.

Judge Ray said Mackinnon has hired a private attorney who asked the case to be passed to Oct. 12. Mackinnon waived his right to have the charges read to him.

According to police reports, an armored van belonging to Security Armored Car Service stopped at the Mobil station off Karsch Boulevard during the noon hour Friday to pick up some cash and get fuel. The armed driver got out of the van and began pumping fuel, while the passenger, also an armed guard, went inside the convenience store to pick up a shipment of money.

According to police, a woman now identified as Dotson, approached the guard at the side of the van and showed a chrome revolver. She reportedly told him, &#8220Don’t you even move.” She then jumped in the van and drove away.

Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said the armored guard reported seeing a silver car, later identified as a Chrysler Sebring, follow the van off the parking lot. Both vehicles headed toward U.S. 67.

As word of the theft spread across the police frequencies, an assortment of highway patrol officers, deputies and policemen began combing the highway, county roads and city streets. It quickly became obvious that the armored van had either not made it all the way to the highway, or had quickly exited onto another road.

About 30 minutes after the theft, a county resident reported finding the armored van sitting in a private drive off Colony Church Road, southeast of Farmington. The engine was still running, and the doors were open on the van. The money that had been inside from previous collections in the day was missing.

While the first officers and investigators were arriving to process the van, others were at the gas station interviewing witnesses and piecing together reported citizen spottings of the van in the time between when it was taken and later found. Police later received several bits and pieces of information regarding sightings of the van and silver car, and a white and red pickup truck also seen with the car at one point.

It was a surveillance camera of the farmer living on the private lane off the county road that provided the evidence that ultimately led to the quick arrests in the case. The images of the suspects’ car and truck were captured plainly by the tiny camera – and those images ultimately led to the tip that would break the case.

Baker explained that tips came in of the red and white pickup truck being spotted in western Ste. Genevieve County before. The driver was identified as Scott Ian Mackinnon. He was located late Friday evening by investigators with the Farmington Police Department. He was taken into custody for questioning, and reportedly provided information regarding his girlfriend, Dotson, and her father, and their involvement in the incident.

Officers impounded Mackinnon’s red and white Chevy S-10 pickup and by early Saturday morning had recovered a portion of the stolen money from an address in Maplewood.

Baker said two teams were formed and surveillance began on the known addresses of Dotson and Ford. Dotson was found at her home in Jefferson County. She gave officers permission to search her home, where they would find the Chrysler Sebring seen leaving the gas station behind the armored van. She reportedly admitted her involvement in the theft to investigators.

A short time later Dotson’s dad, Ford, was stopped while trying to leave his home in southern St. Louis County. A search of the car he was driving at the time turned up evidence linked to the armored van case. He would later also admit his involvement in the theft incident.

On Saturday at about 1:15 p.m., investigators searched Ford’s home after obtaining a search warrant. They recovered additional evidence related to the case, along with the gun believed to have been used by Dotson.

At about 6 p.m. Saturday reports were delivered to Horn. She reviewed the reports and filed the formal charges on the trio of suspects.

Baker said the investigation came together through the help of the FBI, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Information Analysis Center, St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff’s Department, St. Louis County Police Department, Maplewood Police Department, and Desloge Police Department.