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Alex Josephs, of the city of Hartford, must also repay $298,073.86 to three Connecticut and Western Massachusetts stores he and his team of burglars robbed over the course of several months in 2021, the US Attorney for Connecticut said.
Josephs, along with Shaquille Raymond, Ronaldo Smith, and Deshawn Baugh, used violence to overpower employees at AT&T stores during their robbery spree, investigators said.
They would generally enter the stores just before closing, point guns and workers, pistolwhip them on occasion, and drag them into back inventory rooms as they stole cell phones and other electronics, police said.
Saviana Bourne, who worked at AT&T stores, helped plan the robberies, served as a getaway driver, and coordinated the sale of the stolen merchandise, the prosecutor said.
The crew is accused of robbing a store in Newington on Jan. 29, 2021, one in Enfield on Feb. 24, and another one in Canton on April 15. They tried to burglarize AT&T branches in Torrington and Glastonbury in May 2021, but they were locked out, the prosecutor said.
They robbed an AT&T store in West Springfield, Massachusetts, on June 6, but officers were quick to the scene. The robbers led Massachusetts State troopers on a high-speed chase before crashing into multiple police cruisers. Investigators found more than $150,000 worth of stolen merchandise, two revolvers, a semiautomatic pistol, and a semiautomatic rifle inside their wrecked car, the prosecutor said.
Josephs has been detained since his arrest. He pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, the prosecutor said.
Raymond, Smith, Baugh, and Bourne also pleaded guilty to multiple charges.
A judge sentenced Baugh to 108 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of $124,842.45. Raymond was sentenced to 72 months, and Bourne was sentenced to 78 months behind bars. Raymond and Bourne were also ordered to pay restitution of $298,073.86.
Smith is still awaiting sentencing.
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