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Omar Feliciano-Estremera, 45, was the wheelman for a fellow Trentonian Gabriel Lopez, who authorities said fired a gun during one of the holdups.
The pair committed the robberies at mostly convenience stores in Mercer and Union counties in New Jersey and in Bucks County, PA in May and June of 2019, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Lopez "entered the businesses, brandished a handgun, and demanded money from the store clerks working the register," the U.S. attorney said.
Feliciano-Estremera drove the getaway minivan -- and in one instance picked up Lopez after he fired a handgun at passing witnesses, Sellinger said.
Police were tailing them when the pair robbed a Pantry One store in Hamilton Township. Both were arrested as Lopez ran toward the waiting minivan, which had been caught on camera during a previous holdup.
Lopez, who was carrying a Smith & Wesson handgun, has since died.
Rather than risk the outcome of a trial, Feliciano-Estremera took a deal from the government. He pleaded guilty this past March in federal court in Trenton to several charges, including robbery, conspiracy and "aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm which was discharged during a crime of violence."
Feliciano-Estremer must serve out just about all of his plea-bargained term because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan also sentenced him to five years of supervised release.
Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI in Newark with the investigation leading to the plea and sentence, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Ramey of his Criminal Division in Trenton.
The U.S. attorney also thanked officers of the Hamilton Township, Trenton, Rahway, Morrisville, Bristol Township, and Lawrence Township police departments for their assistance.
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