U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Man Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison For Six Convenience Store Robberies During 2015
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Nevada
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man who pleaded guilty to robbing six convenience stores in the Las Vegas area during November and December 2015, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison and five years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
Paul Daniel Loisel, 24, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon. Loisel pleaded guilty on Aug. 10 to five counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
“It is simply unacceptable for persons to think they can walk into a convenience store and threaten the employees and customers with a gun in order to obtain what typically is a very small amount of cash,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We will continue to assist our local authorities in their efforts to deter and end this type of violent crime by prosecuting these cases using federal laws with lengthy, mandatory penalties.”
According to the plea agreement, between Nov. 22 and Dec. 16, 2015, Loisel used a handgun to rob six convenience stores in Las Vegas. In most of the robberies, Loisel entered the stores with a .45 caliber handgun in his hand and pointed it at employees and told them he wanted to make a withdrawal or to put all the money in his bag. In one of the robberies, the defendant attempted to open the cash registers himself because the cashier was outside with her boyfriend. The boyfriend observed that the defendant was attempting to rob the business and when the defendant left the store, the boyfriend pointed a shotgun at the defendant and the defendant shot the boyfriend in the chest, critically wounding him.
Over the last five years, 106 persons have been charged federally with using firearms to commit commercial robberies in southern Nevada. Following are links to the news releases for some of those cases.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/las-vegas-cinched-hoodie-robber-sentenced-life-prison
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/man-sentenced-over-14-years-prison-six-armed-robberies
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/last-30-minutes-or-less-robbers-gets-16-years-prison
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nv/pr/man-who-robbed-las-vegas-mini-mart-convicted-jury
This case was investigated by the FBI, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and North Las Vegas Police Department as part of the Safe Streets Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip N. Smith, Jr.
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Updated November 2, 2016
Topic
Violent Crime
Component