Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons joined the “(We Don’t) Color On the Dog” podcast this week to discuss a holiday weekend that saw an unusual theft, along with his agency’s plans for significant expansion in 2026.
Brinks Robbery
Sheriff Simmons described a “weird” Brinks armored vehicle theft. Unlike the Hollywood version of armored car robberies, this crime came from within. The Brinks employee was assigned to deliver money to ATM machines throughout town and “was supposed to be given, I think, three bags, three or four bags, and he found out that they had delivered, they put one extra bag in his truck.”
The suspect allegedly realized the error and saw an opportunity. “He only used the bags that he was supposed to have, and he had that extra bag and decided for some reason that, ‘Hey, I think it was going to steal this money,’” Simmons explained. The bag contained approximately $104,000, primarily in $20 bills “wrapped in the little paper piece that’s got Brinks all over ’em.”
The employee apparently didn’t count on Brinks’ sophisticated tracking system. “Brinks does a pretty good job of figuring out where all their bags are and who has what bags. And they have a lot of video surveillance,” Simmons said. When Brinks contacted the Sheriff’s Office about the missing $104,000, deputies moved quickly.
“We get to his house, and we see him pulling out, we stop him,” Simmons recounted. A search warrant revealed the evidence: “We saw bags of $20 bills. We had a package of $20 bills. Again, still had that paper wrapping with Brinks on it.”
The suspect’s plan was apparently simple but flawed—he quit his job immediately after the theft, told Brinks where his uniform would be, and planned to spend the stolen money. “If you’re a thief, you’re a thief, and eventually you’re going to get caught.”
Community Engagement
The Sheriff’s Office continues its holiday community engagement with a movie screening of “The Grinch” scheduled for Friday night (Dec. 12) in Century, along with the annual Shop with a Cop program, which provides Christmas gifts for children. The popular Blazer Academy proved its continued appeal when registration for the February session “filled up within two days,” forcing organizers to cap enrollment.
Looking ahead to 2026, Simmons outlined plans to continue investing in both technology and personnel. The agency received funding for eight additional deputy positions in October and is moving forward with phase two camera installations at Pensacola Beach.
“Over the last couple of years… we’ve done a lot of work towards technology,” Simmons explained, emphasizing the strategy of integrating new equipment with increased staffing.
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