An armored-car driver wanted by the FBI and police in Louisville, Kentucky, for allegedly taking off with “hundreds of thousands of dollars” was arrested almost 800 miles away in Connecticut trying to get a driver’s license, according to authorities.
“A significant amount of cash” was also found at a Middletown, Connecticut, apartment belonging to suspect Mark Espinosa, police in Wethersfield, Conn., said in a news release Thursday.
Espinosa of Louisville was captured Wednesday at a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) after a worker reported that a person was presenting forged documents, Wethersfield police said.
“Once at the DMV, the officer was told by a DMV employee that a white male was attempting to get a driver’s license, but presented a forged birth certificate,” police said.
The officer encountered Espinosa, who allegedly identified himself as another person. He was arrested for alleged forgery and brought to police headquarters, where he was eventually identified as a wanted fugitive, police said.
Espinosa was charged with second-degree forgery and interfering with an officer. Police said in a news release that he’d appeared in court Thursday morning and would be turned over to the FBI shortly afterward.
On Dec. 5, at around 3:15 p.m., Espinosa was working as an armored-vehicle driver for GardaWorld near the Jefferson Mall when the company called the Louisville Metro Police Department to report that he had gone missing along with some money.
According to court documents, Espinosa had been hired by GardaWorld in July 2018.
The FBI and local police would only say that “a large amount of U.S. currency” had also gone missing but court documents noted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” and a report in The Louisville Courier-Journal from December said that $850,000 in cash had been taken from the armored vehicle.
(MORE: Missing armored-car driver allegedly took ‘large amount’ of money: Authorities)
Police found the armored vehicle at the back of the mall, authorities said in December. They said Espinosa was last seen in a dark-blue shirt and dark-blue pants.
Louisville police Lt. Steve Kaufling previously said that there were usually two employees in the armored vehicle. On that particular day in December, Espinosa waited inside the vehicle outside the mall while another employee went inside to make drops and pickups.
Kaufling said that it was not the team’s first drop of the day and that they had made several drops that day.
In radio calls from police, officers said the truck had been found still running “along with a weapon in the vehicle.”
Initially, authorities said they were unsure whether Espinosa was in danger or a suspect in the incident, but on Dec. 10, a federal arrest warrant was issued for him.
According to court documents, when authorities searched the armored vehicle, they found Espinosa’s backpack, coat and service weapon, as well as his wallet containing his driver’s license and credit cards. The battery and back cover of his cellphone were also found.
At his home, authorities found two computers in his bedroom “but both hard drives were missing,” court documents said.
(MORE: Police in Louisville searching for missing armored-car driver and money that disappeared from mall)
On Jan. 9, authorities held a news conference, saying that Espinosa was a wanted fugitive and suspected of theft.
“We believe that he acted to take the money,” Kaufling said during that news conference. “Through our investigation, we have ruled out this being a random act of violence. … At this time, we believe Mark Espinosa has taken steps to plan out this theft and has taken steps to cover up his planning.”
There was no surveillance video from the mall, police said.
(MORE: Death-defying drivers clamor for cash spilling out of armored truck on New Jersey highway)
GardaWorld had offered a reward up to $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of the missing money and arrest and conviction of those responsible.
The FBI had also offered a reward of up to $10,000.
Authorities had said Espinosa should be considered armed and dangerous and that he has ties to the Northeast United States, as well as family members in the West and in Texas and Florida.
ABC News’ Jason Volack contributed to the reporting of this story.
