$54,000 Panorama City Robbery : Man Convicted in Armored-Truck Heist

A 28-year-old Canoga Park man was found guilty Tuesday of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in a $54,000 heist from an armored truck.

After deliberating almost 12 hours, a jury in Van Nuys Superior Court convicted Jon C. Bobier of robbing an Armored Transport truck parked in front of Dale’s Market in Panorama City on Jan. 23, 1984, of checks and cash.

The jury also found Bobier guilty of armed robbery in a $1,100 holdup in the bar of the Valley Hilton Inn in Sherman Oaks on Jan. 8, 1984.

Bobier, a former manager at a Westwood pizzeria, faces a maximum sentence of 11 years, seven months in state prison, said Deputy Dist. Atty. James Berry, who prosecuted the case.

During the armored truck robbery, which occurred near the intersection of Nordhoff Street and Van Nuys Boulevard, police said, Bobier grabbed guard Harold Miller from behind and fired what prosecutors said was an apparently accidental shot from a .38-caliber revolver, causing powder wounds to Miller. Bobier then picked up four bags of money and fled.

Bobier was arrested Feb. 29 and charged with five counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of attempted murder. Prosecutors subsequently dropped the other charges for lack of evidence, said Berry.

On March 3, during his arraignment in Van Nuys Municipal Court, Bobier escaped from the courtroom by jumping over a court railing. He ran one block from the courthouse before marshals apprehended him. As a result, he now faces an additional charge of escape, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in state prison, said his attorney, James Blatt.

In early October, Bobier’s case on the armed robbery charges came before a Van Nuys jury, which, after deliberating for one week, could not reach a verdict. Judge Richard Kolostian declared a mistrial, and the case was tried again.

An accomplice who drove a getaway car from the armored truck robbery has not been apprehended, said police. Authorities said that the money has not been recovered from either robbery.

Blatt said he intends to file a motion for a new trial, claiming the evidence prosecutors used to tie Bobier to the two robberies was insufficient.

Kolostian set Feb. 19 for sentencing.