Indictment Charges 4 Hartford Men with Committing Violent Robberies of AT&T Stores

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment yesterday charging ALEX JOSEPHS, 21; RONALDO SMITH, 23; SHAQUILLE RAYMOND, 23; and DESHAWN BAUGH, 19, all of Hartford, with federal robbery and firearm offenses stemming from a spree of AT&T store robberies that occurred earlier this year in Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, earlier this year, the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and several police departments began investigating a group of individuals who were committing violent armed robberies of AT&T stores in Connecticut.  The perpetrators typically entered the stores shortly before closing, pointed weapons at employees, and, at times, pistol-whipped, dragged and shoved employees toward the back inventory room.  They then held the employees at gunpoint while loading large bags with cell phones and other electronics.  The group stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise.

It is alleged that Josephs, Smith, Raymond, Baugh and others robbed AT&T stores in Newington on January 29, Enfield on February 24, Canton on April 15, and West Springfield, Massachusetts on June 6, 2021.  They also attempted to rob stores in Torrington on May 15 and Glastonbury on May 29, but were locked out of the stores.

Josephs, Smith, Raymond, Baugh and Saviana Bourne were arrested on June 6, 2021, after fleeing from the West Springfield robbery and leading police on a high-speed chase that ended when their vehicle collided with a Massachusetts State Police cruiser.  A search of the vehicle revealed a semiautomatic rifle, three handguns, and merchandise stolen during the robbery.

The indictment charges Josephs, Smith, Raymond and Baugh with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least seven years of imprisonment.  Josephs, Smith, Raymond and Baugh are also charged with multiple counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and attempted Hobbs Act robbery, offenses that carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each court.

U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Josephs, Smith, Raymond and Baugh have been detained in Massachusetts state custody since their arrests.

Bourne, 23, of  Middletown, was the driver of the getaway vehicle that crashed on June 6.  On November 30, 2021, she pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, four counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and two counts of attempted Hobbs Act robbery.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police and the Newington, Enfield, Canton, Torrington, Glastonbury, and West Springfield Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ruff.