Two Essex County Men Admit Roles in Armed Robbery of Jewelry Store
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 18, 2013 |
NEWARK, N.J. – Two Essex County, N.J., men today admitted their roles in the armed robbery of the Golden Palace jewelry store in Orange, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Antonio Moore, 44, of Newark, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of that robbery.
Charles Madison, 41, also of Newark, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with aiding and abetting the Hobbs Act robbery and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Both pleaded before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court. A third defendant, David Williams, pleaded guilty in January 2013.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On August 6, 2012, Moore and Williams robbed the store at gunpoint, while Madison served as the getaway driver. During the robbery, Moore punched a 22-year-old employee of the Golden Palace in the head, restrained her and a co-worker with duct tape and telephone cord, and then took approximately $120,000 in jewelry from the store’s display cases. The three defendants were pulled over in Madison’s pick-up truck approximately an hour after the robbery, at which time law enforcement found dozens of pieces of gold jewelry scattered across the back seat of the truck.
Moore faces a maximum potential punishment of life imprisonment. Madison faces a maximum potential punishment of 20 years in prison on the robbery charge and 10 years in prison on the gun charge. Both defendants are subject to fines of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31, 2013.
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 guilty pleas. Mr. Fishman also thanked the Orange Police Department and the New Jersey State Police for their investigation and assistance on this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Bruck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit and David E. Malagold, Chief of the Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit, in Newark.