Federal jury convicts 5 in attempted armored car robbery www.privateofficer.com

 

HOUSTON TX Oct 2 2011 – A federal jury convicted the last of five Houston area men charged after the attempted heist of an armed truck, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced Friday.

Kaleem Jamie Stephens, 30, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery under the Hobbs Act. Stephens was charged along with Nicholas Dushon Price, 31, Victor Tyrone Bruno, 31, Jermaine McNeal, 28, and Ervin Clark, 23, for their roles in a conspiracy to rob an armored car. Price, Bruno, McNeal and Clark pleaded guilty to various charges in advance of Stephens trial. They are all pending sentencing.

According to the attorney’s office, the jury heard testimony that Stephens and all of his co-conspirators were arrested on Sept. 10, 2010, as a result of an undercover operation conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The arrests followed an investigation due to a tip given to DPS.

The convicted hoped to get approximately $250,000 in the robbery using a “Bin Laden style gun” to hold down the driver of the armored truck while other co-conspirators
robbed collected the cash in the vehicle.

Judge Miller set sentencing for Stephens for Jan. 6, 2011. Convictions for conspiracy to commit robbery under the Hobbs Act and conspiracy to carrying a weapon during the commission of a violent offense both carry a maximum 20-year-term of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, while the conviction for carrying a weapon during the commission of a violent offense carries a five year consecutive sentence.

Source:www.myfoxhouston.com