Man Sentenced to Prison for Robbery of a Jewelry Courier

An Atlanta man was sentenced to 70 months in prison today for his role in the robbery of a jewelry courier, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia.

Jose Vicente Ramirez-Rodriguez, 40, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty on Dec. 10, 2014, to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and interstate transportation of stolen property.  In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones of the Northern District of Georgia ordered Ramirez-Rodriguez to pay $122,398 in restitution.

According to admissions in his plea agreement, Ramirez-Rodriguez followed the jewelry courier to a QuikTrip gas station on Jan. 31, 2013.  As he was following the courier, Ramirez-Rodriguez contacted a co-defendant to help him with the robbery.  That co-defendant, in turn, contacted the other three defendants, all of whom came to the gas station together.  When the courier was putting gas in his car, two of the defendants approached him, one restrained him with a knife, while the other smashed the car’s window and took a briefcase containing over $125,000 in assorted jewelry.

Honorio Sanchez-Valenica, John Rodriguez, Ali Alejandro Godoy-Maximo, and Michael Alejandro Tovar-Vargas, were sentenced to serve 137 months in prison, 63 months in prison, 68 months in prison and 87 months in prison respectively on Oct. 27, 2014, for their involvement in the robbery.

This case was investigated by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Gwinnett County Police Department, with assistance from the Dallas Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Laura Gwinn of the Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Dammers of the Northern District of Georgia.