Essex County Man Charged in Armed Robbery of Store
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 30, 2013 |
NEWARK, NJ—Special agents of the FBI arrested an Essex County, New Jersey man this morning in connection with the armed robbery of Belleville News and Food, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Bobby Dawson, 43, of East Orange, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of committing a Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark.
According to the criminal complaint unsealed today:
On April 17, 2013, Dawson, wearing a mask and brandishing a firearm, allegedly entered the Belleville News and Food store. He told the store clerk not to move or he would shoot. Dawson pointed his firearm at the store clerk’s head and demanded money from the cash registers. The store clerk complied and gave Dawson the money.
The Hobbs Act robbery charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The weapons charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked the Belleville, Bloomfield, Kearny, Maplewood, Newark, Paramus, and Verona Police Departments, along with the New Jersey State Police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamari Buxton and Rahul Agarwal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.