Accomplice to Armed Robbery Pleads Guilty to Hobbs Act Violation

ALBUQUERQUE—Rebecca Aguilar, 25, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pled guilty this morning to aiding and abetting the armed robbery of an Albuquerque-area business under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Aguilar will be sentenced to a term of four to five years in prison. Aguilar will remain in custody pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be set.

Aguilar was arrested on October 15, 2012, based on an eight-count indictment that also charged co-defendant Oscar Marquez, 22, of Albuquerque, and alleged four Hobbs Act armed robberies and four counts of using a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence. The indictment charged Marquez with robbing four Albuquerque-area businesses and using a firearm during each of the robberies. Count seven of the indictment charged Aguilar with aiding and abetting Marquez with an armed robbery that occurred on May 9, 2012.

On January 18, 2013, Marquez pled guilty to counts three, five, six, and seven of the indictment, which charged him with three counts of Hobbs Act robbery (the armed robberies of Cricket Wireless on May 29, 2012; King Wireless on June 7, 2012; and Cricket Wireless on June 9, 2012) and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Marquez also pled guilty to an information charging him with a fourth Hobbs Act robbery relating to the June 10, 2012 armed robbery of a Game Stop Store.

During today’s plea hearing, Aguilar pled guilty to count seven of the indictment, the sole charge against her, and admitted assisting Marquez in robbing a Cricket Wireless Store located on Juan Tabo NE on June 9, 2012. In her plea agreement, Marquez stated that Marquez entered the store, pointed a handgun at the clerk, and demanded and obtained money from the clerk. Aguilar admitted knowing that Marquez intended to commit the armed robbery and that she helped him escape with the money.

Marquez has been in federal custody since his arrest on October 17, 2012. He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Marquez will be sentenced to 20 years in prison.

This case was brought as part of a law enforcement initiative launched in July 2012, by the FBI’s Violent Crimes and Major Offender Squad and the Albuquerque Police Department’s Armed Robbery Unit that targets suspects implicated in commercial armed robberies. The new initiative is part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this anti-violence initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque Field Office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the District Attorney’s Office for the Second Judicial District of the State of New Mexico, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon K. Stanford.