Two Men Charged with Robbing Chinese Business

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Alexander Sánchez-Morales and Bryan Merced-Bigio with an armed robbery related to the restaurant China City, in Bayamón, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

According to the Government’s allegations in a Complaint, on October 10, 2024, Sánchez-Morales and a co-conspirator followed a woman and her two young children to a residence above China City restaurant, where the defendants forced their way into the residence and beat the husband in the head with a machinegun.  Defendants stole hundreds of dollars related to the restaurant business before fleeing upon arrival of agents from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.

“The armed robbery allegedly committed by these individuals was a horrific home invasion that spread fear through the community,” said United States Attorney Muldrow.  “Combating violent crime is among the highest of priorities for the federal law enforcement agencies in Puerto Rico.  There is nothing more important than protecting our communities and keeping law abiding citizens safe in their own homes.”

Christopher A. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Miami Field Division stated: “This indictment represents continuing ATF efforts in the fight against violent crime and those who use machineguns to further their violent activities.”

“Part of our mission is to ensure the safety and well-being of every individual. I want to emphasize that when we say ‘everyone,’ we truly mean all people, irrespective of their legal status or any other factors that might make them hesitant to report a federal crime,” stated Joseph González, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “We commend the work of the US Attorney’s Office and ATF in this investigation. I urge anyone who has been targeted by violent criminals due to their ethnicity, nationality, or race to come forward and report it by calling 787-987-6500 or submitting a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.”

If convicted, defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeanette Collazo and Jonathan Gottfried of the Violent Crimes Section are in charge of the prosecution of the case.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is in charge of the investigation with the collaboration of the FBI.  If convicted on all counts, the defendants face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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