Brinks Robbery Was a Family Affair, Police Say : Crime: Guard whose cash bag was stolen is arrested along with his brother, accused of the holdup, and their mother, who allegedly drove the getaway car.

An armored car robbery allegedly committed by a 49-year-old mother and her two sons sounds more like a bad TV sitcom: It’s “All in the Family” meets “America’s Most Wanted.”

Police suspect that Luis Fernando Roca, 30, grabbed a cash bag from a Brinks armored guard and fired several shots as he sped away in a getaway car driven by his mother.

Here’s the hook: The guard is the 28-year-old son of the getaway car driver and the brother of the man who robbed him.

Police arrested Roca and his mother, Maria Aracely Riveria-Cordero, 49, both of La Puente, shortly after the robbery Wednesday in Redondo Beach, said Redondo Beach Police Lt. Ken Keating.

The Brinks guard, George Roca, 28, was arrested the next day. After the robbery, he failed to tell police the suspects were his mother and brother, police said. He said he was unable to get a good enough look at the robbers to identify them.

“George had a bad night sleeping . . . and told his boss the next day, ‘That was my mother and my brother, and the reason I didn’t tell police was because I was embarrassed,’ ” Redondo Beach Police Lt. Jeff Cameron said.

By that time, police said, they were on to the alleged scam. The home address the guard gave police after the robbery matched that of the getaway car’s driver, police said.

“That wasn’t too smart,” Cameron said.

The incident began about 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Smith’s Food King market at 4001 Marine Ave. when Luis Roca allegedly walked up behind his brother as he was making his cash delivery to the store, Keating said.

Luis Roca grabbed his brother’s gun and a bag containing a substantial amount of cash, then jumped in the back seat of the getaway car, Cameron said.

As the mother-son duo sped away, Luis Roca fired about four shots toward the Brinks truck, apparently for dramatic effect, police said. No one was injured.

The suspects might have escaped, but Redondo Beach Police Agent Jim Bell happened to be on patrol in the parking lot when the robbery occurred. Bell heard the gunshots and saw a man wearing a red bandanna and holding a gun in the back seat of the car.

Bell gave chase through city streets, then on foot after Luis Roca allegedly jumped out of the back seat with the bag of cash and fled. Bell quickly nabbed Roca and recovered the money, police said.

Meanwhile, Roca’s mother sped away, but was arrested soon after by another Redondo Beach officer, Keating said.

Cameron said the family had reported experiencing financial problems, and was behind in mortgage payments at the time of the robbery.

The three are being held in separate cells at the Redondo Beach jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, Cameron said. They are scheduled to be arraigned Monday.