South Carolina Resident Charged With Armed Robbery

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Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on February 27, 2014, Denzell D. Grant, 19, a resident of South Carolina, who was stationed at an army base in Fort Hood, Texas, at the time of the commission of alleged offense, was arraigned on a two-count Indictment which charges, in Count 1, Interference with Commerce by Robbery (Armed Robbery), and, in Count 2, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. The Armed Robbery count is a federal “Hobbs Act Robbery.” The Hobbs Act makes it a crime to obstruct, delay, or affect interstate commerce by robbery, and is used by United States Attorney Wigginton’s office as a way to combat armed robbery in the Southern District of Illinois. Grant was ordered detained, that is, held without bond, pending trial, which is scheduled for April 28, 2014, in East St. Louis, Illinois.

Count 1 of the Indictment charges that Grant committed an armed robbery at Max’s One Stop Shop in Swansea, Illinois, by demanding that the clerk on duty give him the money in the cash register. Count 2 charges that, in furtherance of the armed robbery, Grant used a firearm, and that the firearm discharged.

If convicted on Count 1, Grant faces a term in prison of not more than 20 years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. If convicted on Count 2, Grant faces a mandatory sentence of not less than 10 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than five (5) years. In addition, the sentence imposed on Count 2 must run consecutively to the sentence imposed on Count 1.

An indictment is merely the method by which federal charges are lodged. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the Swansea, Illinois, Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.