A Newark, N.J. man has admitted committing two armed robberies of commercial establishments in Essex County, N.J., U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Antwon Yarbrough, 27, of Newark, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to commit Hobbs Act robberies.
According documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Between April 2013 and May 2013, Yarbrough conspired with others to rob a Krauszers store in West Orange, N.J., on April 24, 2013, and a Subway restaurant in Verona, N.J., on May 20, 2013. Yarbrough and his conspirators robbed these establishments at gunpoint. In each robbery, Yarbrough and his co-conspirators used plastic zip ties to restrain their victims. They then stole cash, cigarettes, and other items.
In the Krauszers robbery on April 24, 2013, Yarbrough and another robber entered the store wearing dark hoodies, face masks, and gloves. Yarbrough secured the door from the inside using a zip tie, while the other robber pointed a firearm at an employee and forced the employee to the floor. The robber restrained the employee with zip ties then struck the employee in the head with the gun.
Yarbrough restrained the hands and feet of two other victims, one of whom Yarbrough struck in the head with his forearm. Yarbrough and the other robber then emptied the cash register of several hundred dollars, stole several cartons of Newport cigarettes, and fled.
In the Subway robbery on May 20, 2013, Yarbrough and two other robbers again entered the restaurant wearing dark hoodies, face masks, and gloves. Both robbers accompanying Yarbrough brandished firearms. After entering the restaurant, the robbers restrained an employee by tying the employee’s hands and feet with zip ties. The robbers then emptied the cash register of several hundred dollars and fled.
The Hobbs Act conspiracy to which Yarbrough pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss arising out of the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for March 18, 2014.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Belleville, Bloomfield, Kearny, Linden, Maplewood, Newark, Paramus, Verona and West Orange police departments, along with the N.J. State Police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for their work on this case.
Yarbrough was arrested in September. A second person, Bobby Dawson, has also entered a guilty plea in conjunction with the Subway robbery and 16 other armed robberies throughout Union, Essex, and Bergen counties.
