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Press Release
Press Release
The Grand Jury today returned an indictment against three individuals for their involvement in a spree of armed robberies of commercial businesses in and around the Bay Area and the subsequent attempted cover-up of those robberies, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag.
The Grand Jury charged Melvin Landry, Jr., 22, and Dominique Martin, 22, both of Oakland, with conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, robbery affecting interstate commerce ("Hobbs Act robbery"), and the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Landry is charged with 4 counts of Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during those robberies. Martin is charged with 2 counts of Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during those robberies. According to a previously-filed criminal complaint, between 2012 and continuing into 2013, Landry and Martin robbed Wal-Mart stores in Fremont, San Leandro, and Sacramento, as well as a Safeway store in Oakland, each time brandishing a firearm at employees during the robberies. The loss amount from these robberies was at least $275,000, a large portion of which was cash.
The Grand Jury also charged Landry with obstruction of justice and attempted bribery of a federal official. According to the criminal complaint, following his initial arrest in early July, Landry offered $60,000 in cash, a Rolex watch, and a luxury vehicle if Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents would allow him to escape. The Grand Jury also charged Cassandra Dam, 29, of Oakland, with making false statements to federal agents in connection with their investigation into Landry and Martin.
The criminal complaint specifies that additional robberies are also under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI San Francisco Division at (415) 553-7400.
The maximum statutory penalty for use/possession of a firearm in furtherance of the Hobbs Act robbery, a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c), is life imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, but carries a mandatory minimum consecutive prison term of 5 years for the first Section 924(c) conviction, and a 25-year mandatory minimum consecutive term in prison for each second or successive 924(c) conviction. The maximum statutory penalty for Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1951(a), is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Kathryn Haun is the Assistant United States Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kevin Costello and Daniel Charlier-Smith. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, the Fremont Police Department, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, the Oakland Police Department, the San Leandro Police Department, the Sacramento Police Department, the Pinole Police Department, and the San Rafael Police Department.
Please note, indictments and complaints contain only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, those named herein must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.