Three Brooklyn, N.Y., Men Arrested For Armed Robberies Of New Jersey T-mobile Stores

NEWARK, N.J. – Three Brooklyn, N.Y, men were arrested today by agents of the FBI in connection with two armed robberies of T-Mobile stores in Linden, N.J., and Woodbridge, N.J., U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Terrell McQueen, 29, is charged by Complaint with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Carl Williams, 29, and Eric Williams, 32, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. All three defendants are scheduled to appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark federal court.

According to the Complaint:

On Sept. 20, 2012, Carl Williams and a conspirator walked into a T-Mobile store in Linden. The conspirator brandished a firearm, and the men then tied up the employees in the back of the store. After taking 50 to 60 cell phones, the men fled in a Land Rover. Terrell McQueen, Carl Williams, Eric Williams, and other conspirators then delivered the stolen cell phones to a cell phone store in Brooklyn.

On Oct. 2, 2012, two men, one of whom was armed with a firearm, entered a T-Mobile store in Woodbridge. After locking the front door, the men took the employees to the back of the store and tied them up. The men took approximately 40 cell phones. One of the men then used his own cell phone to contact a third individual, who drove the other two men away in a Land Rover. Terrell McQueen, Eric Williams, and other conspirators later delivered the stolen cell phones to the same cell phone store in Brooklyn.

If convicted of the Hobbs Act conspiracy charges, McQueen, Carl Williams, and Eric Williams face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. If convicted of the two counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, McQueen faces a mandatory minimum of 32 years in prison to run consecutively to any sentence that he receives for the Hobbs Act conspiracy charge and a maximum of life in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted of the one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, Carl Williams and Eric Williams each face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison to run consecutively to any sentence that they receive for the Hobbs Act robbery charge and a maximum of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez, with the investigation leading to the arrests and charges. He also thanked the Linden and Woodbridge Police Departments in New Jersey, as well as the New York City and Nassau County Police Departments and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York for their work in this case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Osmar J. Benvenuto of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

12-080                             

McQueen, Terrell et al., Complaint