KENDALL COUNTY, Texas – Four people were convicted in Kendall County for their involvement in money laundering that’s linked to a 2024 ATM robbery in California, according to the Kendall County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
In a March 6 press release, authorities said the investigation began on Feb. 3, 2024, when a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 10 in Kendall County.
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Once the DPS trooper approached the vehicle, they revealed $80,000 was inside a backpack in the backseat, the release stated.
The Kendall County district attorney’s office identified the people inside the vehicle as Tahj “Chad” Luchin, Montoi Weatherspoon, Jada Dancer and Jamyra Smith.
Further investigation linked the seized cash to an ATM robbery in Huntington Beach, California, on Feb. 1, 2024, officials said.
The California robbery was committed by a Houston gang “5th Ward Circle,” the release states.
Two masked robbers surprised an ATM technician servicing a Wells Fargo machine, the Kendall County district attorney’s office said. The robbers fled the scene with approximately $240,000.
Authorities later determined that Luchin, a documented “5th Ward Circle” member, traveled by bus from California to El Paso, where three others, the release states, later picked him up.
The group was on its way to Houston when they were stopped in Kendall County by the DPS trooper.
All four were arrested and charged with money laundering and engaging in organized criminal activity, the Kendall County district attorney’s office said.
Authorities said the recovered funds have been returned to the Wells Fargo Bank in California, where the robbery occurred.
Luchin additionally faces two additional charges, including theft of property valued between $30,000 and $150,000 and possession of marijuana, the release stated.
Smith, a former Texas Department of Criminal Justice corrections officer, also faces an additional charge of unlawfully carrying a weapon, authorities said.
According to the Kendall County district attorney’s office, Luchin faces a 16-year prison sentence, Smith faces 5 years of deferred adjudication and Dancer and Weatherspoon both face a 2-year prison sentence.
Additionally, the investigation helped Huntington Beach police identify the second robber in the California robbery, Devante Brown from Houston.
Texas DPS, Huntington Beach Police Department and the Houston Police Department contributed to the investigation.
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