Member Of Violent Home Invasion Robbery Crew Sentenced To 264 Months For Conspiring To Commit Drug Robberies, Conspiring To Distribute Cocaine And Heroin, And Illegally Using A Firearm

Randall Martinez was sentenced today to 264 months in prison by United States District Judge Sandra L. Townes at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Previously, Martinez pleaded guilty to robbery conspiracy, cocaine trafficking conspiracy, and firearm charges.

The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James J. Hunt, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division.

Martinez was a member of a violent robbery crew responsible for more than 100 robberies of narcotics traffickers in the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere that netted more than 250 kilograms of cocaine and $1 million in drug proceeds. Beginning in approximately January 2001, crew members posed as law enforcement officers, staged fake arrests of the traffickers, and then forcibly seized the traffickers’ contraband. Members of the robbery crew restrained victims with handcuffs, rope, or duct tape. The crew members often brandished firearms and physically assaulted victims. Crew members sold the stolen drugs and divided the proceeds among themselves.

Martinez participated in at least 22 separate robberies and attempted robberies. During these crimes, Martinez personally entered the residences and, on at least nine occasions, Martinez or his fellow crew members brandished firearms. On one occasion, Martinez brought two firearms to the scene of a robbery and acted as the lookout for the robbery crew while a victim was strangled to death in the residence. The robberies and attempted robberies in which Martinez directly participated involved at least 600 kilograms of cocaine and approximately $434,000 in drug proceeds. Agents seized 107 kilograms of cocaine from these robberies.

Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the DEA, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Police Department.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sylvia Shweder and Alexander Solomon.

The Defendant:

RANDALL MARTINEZ

Age: 33

Bronx, NY

E.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 08-CR-242 and 12-CR-91

S.D.N.Y. Docket No. 10-CR-955 (removed to E.D.N.Y. for purposes of sentencing)