Federal Indictment Charges Three Men with Theft and Robbery for Taking Designer Goods and Controlled Substances from Vehicles and Warehouses
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 23, 2013 |
LAS VEGAS—A federal indictment was returned today charging three men with conspiracy, theft, and robbery crimes for stealing controlled substances and designer goods from delivery vehicles and warehouses in Las Vegas, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Julio De Armas Diaz, 53; Alexis Torres Simon, 45; and Alexander Del Valle Garcia, 41, all of Las Vegas, are charged with one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to commit theft from an interstate shipment. Del Valle Garcia is also charged with one count of making a false statement to the FBI.
According to the indictment, beginning no later than October 2012 and continuing to April 8, 2013, the defendants allegedly conspired to obtain designer goods and controlled substances by stealing them from motor-trucks, trailers, vehicles, warehouses, and storage facilities and to sell the goods for their own financial gain. The defendants allegedly broke into warehouses by cutting through warehouse doors, breaking into delivery vans and other vehicles that had been left unsupervised, and forcibly robbing drivers of delivery vehicles and their contents.
One specific incident alleged in the indictment is that between April 4 and April 8, 2013, the defendants conspired to rob with a firearm a delivery van driver in order to obtain control and possession of the van containing controlled substances. On April 8, Garcia allegedly falsely told FBI agents that he was driving a friend to apply for a job the morning of his arrest and that gloves and duct tape found in the car he was driving belonged to the registered owner of the vehicle.
The defendants are currently in federal custody and are scheduled for arraignments on May 2, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge George W. Foley.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit robbery charge, up to 15 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit theft charge, and five years minimum mandatory, which must be served consecutively, on the firearm charge. Garcia also faces up to five years in prison for making a false statement to law enforcement. All face fines of up to $250,000 on each count.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.