{"id":49570,"date":"2017-02-23T22:42:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T22:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=49570"},"modified":"2017-02-23T22:42:20","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T22:42:20","slug":"federal-jury-convicts-st-croix-woman-of-participating-in-a-hobbs-act-robbery-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=49570","title":{"rendered":"Federal Jury Convicts St. Croix Woman Of Participating In Extortion Conspiracy Against Jewelry Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. THOMAS — A federal jury on Thursday found Aracelis N. Ayala a\/k\/a \u201cGordita\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cFluff,\u201d 34, guilty of one count of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery<\/a><\/span>, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of robbery in the first degree, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced.<\/p>\n

Ayala faces up to 20 years on each of the Hobbs Act robbery and local robbery charges and a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of seven years for the brandishing of a firearm charge. Judge Curtis V. Gomez remanded Ayala into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending her sentencing on June 29, 2017.<\/p>\n

According to the evidence presented at trial, Ayala was a member of a robbery crew that conspired to rob Signature Jewelers on August 19, 2015. Ayala conspired with other individuals to rob the store by providing cash and a handgun, renting a vehicle, and securing hotel rooms on St. Thomas. Upon entering the store, Ayala\u2019s cohorts brandished a handgun to threaten the store employees and used duct tape to bind and gag them before fleeing with cash and merchandise.<\/p>\n

Other members of the conspiracy, Turrel Thomas, 21, and Raheem Miller a\/k\/a \u201cCaesar,\u201d 24, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and related firearm offenses. All defendants were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing on June 22, 2017.<\/p>\n

This case is a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Virgin Islands Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anna A. Vlasova and Sigrid Tejo-Sprotte.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ST. THOMAS — A federal jury on Thursday found Aracelis N. Ayala a\/k\/a \u201cGordita\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cFluff,\u201d 34, guilty of one count of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of robbery in the first degree, United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4400,191,147],"tags":[3850,6108],"yoast_head":"\nFederal Jury Convicts St. Croix Woman Of Participating In Extortion Conspiracy Against Jewelry Store - V.I. 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