An Inglewood man, who in 2022 was granted compassionate release after serving 26 years in federal prison for armed robberies of armed couriers, has been found guilty by a jury of robbing a Brinks courier at gunpoint in a bank parking lot near LAX in August 2023, the Justice Department has announced.
Markham David Bond, 61, was found guilty late Thursday of one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Bond has been in federal custody since November 2023.
"After being given a second chance in life, this defendant sadly chose a path of violent crime," said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. "Through our strong partnerships with federal and local law enforcement, we will continue to use our resources to protect our community by holding accountable violent offenders who use guns."
According to evidence presented at a five-day trial, on the morning of August 18, 2023, Bond stole approximately $145,000 in cash from a Brinks armored carrier outside a Chase bank near LAX. The armored vehicle was parked in the bank parking lot as one of its employees got out of the vehicle with a blue duffle bag on a rolling cart and which contained the cash. Bond approached the driver, pointed a handgun at him, and demanded the money.
Fearing for his life, the Brinks employee dropped the duffle bag. Bond then ordered the victim to get down on the ground. After the victim complied with this order, Bond grabbed the blue Brinks duffle bag then fled the area.
Bond was arrested on November 22, 2023, and police seized at his residence a .40-caliber pistol containing 10 rounds of ammunition, the shirt he used during the robbery, and cash hidden inside of a mini-refrigerator. Police also found the robbery getaway car parked around the block from Bond's residence. Inside the car, police found the empty Brinks bag and the hat Bond used during the robbery, among other evidence linking Bond to the robbery.
Bond has multiple felony convictions dating from the 1980s and 1990s, including for Hobbs Act robbery, armed bank robbery, use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin. As a convicted felon, Bond is not permitted to possess firearms or ammunition.
In January 1995, Bond was sentenced to 562 months (46 years and 10 months) in prison after being convicted of bank robbery and firearms offenses by a federal jury in Los Angeles. But in January 2022, Bond was granted compassionate release and was released early from prison. He was on supervised release when he robbed the Brinks employee at gunpoint on August 18, 2023.
United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu scheduled a July 11, 2025, sentencing hearing, at which point Bond will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
Operation Safe Cities establishes strategic enforcement priorities with an emphasis on prosecuting the most significant drivers of violent crime. Across this region, the most damaging and horrific crimes are committed by a relatively small number of particularly violent individuals. This strategic enforcement approach is expected to increase the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of recidivists engaged in the most dangerous conduct. It is designed to improve public safety across the region by targeting crimes involving illicit guns, prohibited persons possessing firearms, or robbery crews that cause havoc and extensive losses to retail establishments.
The FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery Homicide Division investigated this case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Haoxiaohan H. Cai of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force and Daniel H. Weiner of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.
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