South Carolina Resident Charged with Armed Robbery
Case is One of Many Brought as a Result of United States Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton’s Metro-East Armed Robbery Initiative
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 27, 2014 |
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on February 27, 2014, Denzell D. Grant, 19, a resident of South Carolina, who was stationed at an army base in Fort Hood, Texas, at the time of the commission of alleged offense, was arraigned on a two-count indictment which charges, in count one, interference with commerce by robbery (armed robbery), and, in count two, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The armed robbery count is a federal Hobbs Act Robbery. The Hobbs Act makes it a crime to obstruct, delay, or affect interstate commerce by robbery and is used by United States Attorney Wigginton’s office as a way to combat armed robbery in the Southern District of Illinois. Grant was ordered detained, that is, held without bond, pending trial, which is scheduled for April 28, 2014, in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Count one of the indictment charges that Grant committed an armed robbery at Max’s One Stop Shop in Swansea, Illinois, by demanding that the clerk on duty give him the money in the cash register. Count two charges that, in furtherance of the armed robbery, Grant used a firearm, and that the firearm discharged.
If convicted on count one, Grant faces a term in prison of not more than 20 years, a fine up to $250,000, or both and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. If convicted on count two, Grant faces a mandatory sentence of not less than 10 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both and a term of supervised release of not more than five years. In addition, the sentence imposed on count two must run consecutively to the sentence imposed on count one.
An indictment is merely the method by which federal charges are lodged. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by the Swansea, Illinois Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.