Five Detroit people charged in Wisconsin robbery
According to a recent press release from the FBI, four men and one woman from the Detroit area have been federally indicted for robbing a jewelry store in West Bend, Wisconsin.
Federal court documents show that the five defendants traveled to West Bend several days prior to the robbery. On December 29th, 2014, the five Detroit residents entered Husar’s House of Fine Diamonds armed with sledgehammers. They stole several rolex watches.
It was initially assumed that the defendants were five males, because in all of the surveillance footage, the defendants looked male. They were seen entering the store at about 3:50 pm; smashing display cases and retrieving watches before fleeing.
According to the store owner, no one was hurt during the robbery. Customers and employees were both entirely ignored. And apparently the event happened so fast that no one responded until after it was over. After leaving the store, the defendants were seen jumping into a tan minivan before driving away. The minivan was found later by police, and discovered to have been stolen.
24-year-old Trayvon Shelton, 28-year-old Charles Leroy Hall, 23-year-old Gawain Mandeville-Nelson II, 23-year-old Deangelo Hayes, and 21-year-old Aliya Rahman are named in the indictment as the defendants. They have all been accused of a single count of Hobbs Act robbery. If convicted, each defendant could be looking at up to 20 years behind bars in a federal prison for this interstate robbery.
Of the five, only three have been apprehended by police. Shelton, Hall, and Mandeville-Nelson are in federal custody. Hayes and Rahman are still free. The criminal complaint against the three defendants currently in custody details the interstate robbery, and exactly what the defendants are accused of.
Under federal law, the Hobbs Act (18 U.S.C. § 1951) prohibits “actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce”. In other words, crossing state lines in order to rob, or try to rob, either an individual or a business.
According to acting United States Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad, this crime is currently under investigation by the FBI’s Milwaukee Area Violent Crimes Task Force, who are working together with the West Bend Police Department. Because the accused crossed state lines in order to commit the alleged robbery, the FBI’s Detroit Division and the Eastern District of Michigan United States Attorney’s Office are also assisting in the interstate robbery investigation and prosecution.