Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Armed Robbery of Fast Food Restaurant in Moriarty, N.M.

ALBUQUERQUE – Yesterday afternoon a federal judge sentenced Abraham Sedillo, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his federal armed robbery conviction. Sedillo also was ordered to make full restitution to the victim of the armed robbery. Sedillo’s sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, 7th Judicial District Attorney Clint Wellborn, and Thomas G. Atteberry, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Sedillo was indicted in March 2012, and charged with violating the Hobbs Act by interfering with a business engaged in interstate commerce by robbery. The federal charge against Sedillo arose out of the armed robbery of a Blake’s Lotaburger Restaurant in Moriarty, N.M., on Sept. 12, 2011. In Oct. 2012, Sedillo pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

According to court records, on the night of Sept. 12, 2011, Sedillo, who was armed with a revolver, and an unidentified co-conspirator, who was armed with a knife, entered the Blake’s Lotaburger Restaurant shortly before its 10:00 p.m. closing time. Sedillo and his accomplice jumped over the counter, brandished their weapons at two employees, and demanded money. After the accomplice grabbed a container of money from the employees, the two robbers ran out of the restaurant.

During interviews with the Moriarity Police Department, the employees reported recognizing Sedillo because he had been employed at the restaurant in fall and winter of 2010. On Sept. 13, 2011, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department arrested Sedillo in Albuquerque, based on a state arrest warrant obtained by the Moriarity Police Department. Sedillo remained in local custody on state charges until April 11, 2012, when he was transferred to federal custody.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Moriarity Police Department, the Albuquerque Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office for the 7th Judicial District of the State of New Mexico, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raul Torrez and William J. Pflugrath.