Heist Suspect Hid Cash Behind "Scarface" Poster

JULY 21--A 20-year-old Michigan man arrested yesterday for sticking up an armored car hid money stolen during the robbery behind a “Scarface” poster hanging on the wall in the den of his family’s home, according to the FBI.

Diondrey “Little Dre” Washington was collared for his alleged role in the July 8 armed robbery of a Total Armored Car Service (TACS) van picking up cash at a Michigan Department of Treasury office in Sterling Heights. The stickup netted Washington and two codefendants--one of whom was hired by TACS two months ago--$315,287, court records reveal.

Aided by two confidential informants, investigators quickly identified Washington, who also uses the nickname “Drey Lucci,” and his two cohorts as suspects in the heist. When FBI agents yesterday arrested Washington outside a Detroit residence, they discovered a stolen 9mm handgun tucked into his waistband.

After securing a search warrant for his parents’s home, agents found about $3700 “secreted” in the residence, with some cash found inside a tennis shoe in the laundry room “and behind a ‘Scarface’ poster hanging on the wall in the den.” Agents also found receipts detailing cash purchases--in excess of $1000--that occurred on or after July 8, the date of the armored car stickup.

A U.S. District Court complaint charging Washington, pictured in the below mug shot, with robbery and weapons possession notes that the defendant was wearing a Rolex watch worth about $5000 when he was taken into custody. As seen above, in a photo Washington posted to his Facebook page Tuesday, he appears to be showing off the Rolex.

Washington’s profile lists his single interest as “Money” and his two favorite movies as “Killa Season” and “Scarface,” a favorite of the hip-hop generation and a film whose various ephemera can be seen in every episode of MTV’s “Cribs.”

Though Washington’s Facebook wall postings are private, his Twitter feed reported on July 14 that, “I Hustle Non Stop I Wnt All Da #Money.” A day later he wrote, “Nobody Balls Foreva Its Knowing How To Maintain” and “I Think Its Time To Leave Da City!”

Despite this apparent desire to leave town, Washington is now jailed in Detroit in advance of a July 26 detention hearing in federal court. (3 pages)