Seventh Defendant Indicted for Jewelry Store Heist that Included a Home Invasion Robbery, Carjacking and Kidnapping

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment that adds a seventh defendant to the six already charged in connection with a conspiracy to rob a jewelry store.  The superseding indictment also adds a home invasion robbery to the carjacking and kidnapping charges included in the original indictment.  The superseding indictment was returned on July 28, 2015 and unsealed today.

The following individuals are charged in the superseding indictment:

            Stanislav (Steven) Yelizarov, age 25, of Pikesville, Maryland
            Alexsey (Losha) Sosonko, age 34, of Owings Mills, Maryland;
            Igor Yasinov, age 25, of Baltimore;
            Grigoriy (Greg) Zilberman, age 24, of Owings Mills;
            Peter Magnis, age 27, of Hydes, Maryland;
            Marat (Mike) Yelizarov, age 26, of Pikesville; and
            Sorhib Omonov, age 27, of Baltimore (new defendant).

The superseding indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.          

According to the six count superseding indictment, from November 2012, through February 2, 2013, the defendants planned and organized the robbery of an Owings Mills jewelry store, in order to sell the stolen goods for cash.

The superseding indictment alleges that on July 22, 2012, S. Yelizarov, Sosonko, Zilberman, M. Yelizarov, and others committed an armed home invasion robbery and stole 10 firearms for use in future criminal activity.  During the robbery, the victim was bound and beaten with a handgun. On December 25, 2012, S. Yelizarov, Yasinov and others broke into a residence and stole two guns which they planned to use in the robbery of the jewelry store.  Prior to the robbery, the defendants gathered intelligence, including conducting surveillance and attaching a GPS device to the car of an employee of the jewelry store in order to learn the employee’s travel routine and habits.  According to the indictment, on January 16, 2013, as the employee was driving from Zilberman’s home, S. Yelizarov, Sosonko, Yasinov, and Magnis drove a rented SUV and used a law enforcement-type light bar and a loudspeaker to impersonate a police officer and pull over the employee. Brandishing firearms, the defendants allegedly removed the employee from his car. S.Yelizarov, Sosonko, Yasinov, and Magnis forcibly bound and blindfolded the employee, put him into the trunk of his own car and drove him to a predetermined location.  According to the indictment, once at the location, S.Yelizarov, Sosonko, Yasinov, and Magnis brandished firearms and robbed the employee of the keys to the jewelry store and demanded the code to the jewelry store’s alarm system. The defendants threatened to kill the employee’s family if he did not comply with their demands or if he reported the incident to police. During the abduction and robbery the defendants allegedly wore masks and gloves to conceal their identities.

At approximately 3:52 a.m., the indictment alleges that S. Yelizarov and Sosonko drove the employee’s vehicle from the remote location to the jewelry store, where M. Yelizarov and Omonov were stationed nearby to act as “look-outs.”  S. Yelizarov and Sosonko allegedly used the employee’s key and the alarm code forcibly obtained from the employee to enter the jewelry store, where they stole jewelry, stones, and watches, valued at about $500,000.

The indictment alleges that over the next few days, S. Yelizarov sold a portion of the items stolen from the jewelry store, both in Maryland and in Brooklyn, New York, receiving in excess of $129,000 in cash, which S. Yelizarov divided among the conspirators and others.  According to the indictment, at the direction of S. Yelizarov, M. Yelizarov, Sosonko, and others removed guns and other evidence of the crimes from S. Yelizarov’s residence.

The defendants each face a maximum sentence of life in prison for the kidnapping conspiracy and the kidnapping and for carrying and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. The defendants each face 15 years in prison for the carjacking; and 20 years in prison for the robbery conspiracy and for the robbery.  An initial appearance was held today for Omonov in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and he was detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for July 31, 2015, at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan.  No court appearance on the superseding indictment has been scheduled for the remaining defendants.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Baltimore County Police Department, and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Budlow and Aaron S. J. Zelinsky, who are prosecuting the case.