August Trial Date Set for Two Charged with Robbing Three Smoke Shops in May

SALT LAKE CITY—A four-day jury trial has been scheduled for August for two individuals charged in connection with three smoke shop robberies in West Valley City and Midvale in May.

Dean Salvidor Sainsbury, age 25, of Taylorsville, and Kenedi Francis Sarafolean, age 22, of Murray, were indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of robbery, including a May 10, 2013 robbery of the One Stop Smoke Shop located at 4645 South 4000 West in West Valley City; a May 11, 2013 robbery of Smokey’s Discount Cigarettes located at 3500 South 3630 West in West Valley City; and a May 13, 2013 robbery of Smokeland, located at 7948 South State Street in Midvale.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury in May, also alleges that a firearm was brandished during each of the robberies. Sainsbury and Sarafolean, who have previous felony convictions, also are charged with illegally possessing a firearm.

The case is being investigated by the FBI-sponsored Valley Police Alliance Safe Streets Task Force.

Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court. Sainsbury and Sarafolean are in federal custody and have entered not guilty pleas to the charges. The trial begins August 12, 2013, in U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball’s courtroom.

The potential maximum penalty for each of the three robbery counts (violations of the federal Hobbs Act) is up to 20 years in prison. Possessing a firearm following a felony conviction carries a potential penalty of 10 years. The first count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a minimum-mandatory sentence of seven years. Each subsequent conviction is an additional 25 years. The minimum-mandatory sentences run consecutive (stack) and are imposed in addition to any sentences imposed for other counts of conviction.