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Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, John A. Bolduc, Chief, Port St. Lucie Police Department, Kenneth Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, J. Michelle Morris, Chief, Sebastian Police Department, Deryl Loar, Sheriff, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and Ric L. Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, announce the arrests of Raven Simone Sayers, 23, of Hallandale, Florida, Joe JR Desilien, 24, and Herbert LeNorris Smith, 36, both of West Palm Beach, Florida. Sayers, Desilien and Smith were arraigned on November 5, 2013 on a Second Superseding Indictment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch, Jr. in Ft. Pierce, Florida, bringing the number of defendants charged in the series of PNC Bank armed robberies to eight. Trial has been set for January 27, 2014, in Ft. Pierce before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez.
The Second Superseding Indictment, filed October 31, 2013, charges the defendants with conspiracy to obstruct, delay, or affect commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951; with obstruction, delay, or affect commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951; and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c). If convicted of the Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy or Hobbs Act robbery, the defendants face a possible maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison. If convicted of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, the defendants face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison. In the case of a second or subsequent conviction, the defendants face a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, up to a possible maximum sentence of life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
According to the criminal complaints filed in these matters, on July 8, 2013, the PNC Bank located in Ft. Pierce, Florida and the PNC Bank in Port St. Lucie, Florida were robbed almost simultaneously at gunpoint by groups of black males wearing white clothing and white cloth masks. In each robbery, the groups of males fled in mini vans stolen earlier that morning. One group was apprehended after a police chase that ended near the intersection of Port St. Lucie Boulevard and Aster Road in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The driver Tomaleesha Jeffie Laqua McKeliver, and the three passengers, Anthony Isaac Johnson, Allan Demetrius Bradford, and Ivory Lee Robinson, III, were arrested.
The criminal complaints also state that shortly after two of the males fled the PNC Bank in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the third male became momentarily trapped inside, and was observed removing clothing as he fled the bank. A bag containing money was recovered near the PNC Bank and defendant Paul Edward Moore was arrested nearby. With the exception of Moore, the other individuals involved in the Port St. Lucie bank robbery remained at large until the recent arrests of defendants Sayers, Desilien and Smith.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, Port St. Lucie Police Department, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Sebastian Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Port Orange Police Department, and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.
An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.