Six Indicted for Robbing Jewelry Vendor in Westerville
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 30, 2009 |
COLUMBUS—A federal grand jury here has indicted six people, charging each of them with one count of conspiracy and one count of interfering with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act) for the April 3, 2009 robbery of a jewelry merchant in Westerville, in which more than a million dollars worth of jewelry was stolen. Each count is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.
Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Westerville Police Chief Joseph Morbitzer announced the indictment today.
Named in the indictment are:
- Oscar Ferero, 26, Los Angeles, California
- Fernando Patino Cruz, 25, Los Angeles, California
- Yhariel Allesandro Roverando-Mondragon, 38, address unknown
- Kevin Ismael Miranda, 29, Los Angeles, California
- Donald Jose Bonilla-Canales, 34, address unknown,
- Bernardo Sanchez-Perez, 35, Los Angeles, California
The indictment alleges that the men came to Columbus on April 1, 2009 and planned to rob one of the vendors attending a jewelry show at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. The indictment alleges that one of the conspirators broke the car window of one of the vendors when he was stopped in Westerville and two other conspirators took two suitcases containing more than $1 million in jewelry.
The indictment alleges that an unknown number of the conspirators rented a car and drove to Wayne, New Jersey. Westerville police detectives, with the assistance of FBI agents and Passaic County New Jersey Sheriff’s deputies, arrested the men on April 6, 2009 and recovered items stolen from the vendor in Westerville. All six have been in custody since their arrests.
The U.S. Marshals Service will transport the defendants to Ohio where court appearances will be scheduled.
Lockhart commended the investigation by Westerville detectives and FBI agents, who were assisted by the New York Police Department and local New Jersey law enforcement agencies, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Salvador A. Dominguez, who is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant should be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.