By: Richard L. Smith
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger reported Wednesday that three New Jersey men are now facing charges related to a string of armed robberies that occurred in Passaic County in August 2022.
Kareem Powell, 30, hailing from Willingboro, New Jersey, has been charged by a superseding indictment with two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Following his November 21, 2023 arrest, Powell appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court and was subsequently detained.
Powell's co-defendants, Carlos Diaz, 30, and Edward Porter, 30, both of Paterson, New Jersey, were previously charged by indictment with three counts of Hobbs Act robbery and three counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
However, the superseding indictment now brings additional charges against Diaz and Porter, including an extra count of Hobbs Act robbery and an additional count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Details from court documents and statements made in court provide a chilling account of the robberies that unfolded during those August days:
On the evening of August 22, 2022, Powell, Diaz, and Porter carried out the robbery of a Passaic bodega, making off with several thousand dollars.
Their guns were menacingly aimed at a victim, accompanied by threats to take the victim's life.
Later that same night, the trio struck again, targeting a Paterson business and absconding with several thousand dollars. In both incidents, Powell, Diaz, and Porter terrorized customers with their firearms, ordering them to the ground.
On the evening of August 23, 2022, Diaz and Porter went on to rob a Passaic liquor store at gunpoint, escaping with several thousand dollars.
Inside the store, Porter resorted to violence, pistol-whipping a victim in the face. The night's criminal escapades continued with Diaz and Porter committing yet another gunpoint robbery, this time targeting a business in Paterson.
Inside the store, Porter pushed one victim and engaged in a struggle with another, even dragging the latter victim to the floor while attempting to seize their handbag.
The charges these men face are grave, with each count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed.
Hobbs Act robbery, on the other hand, entails a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
As legal proceedings unfold, the accused men will face the consequences of their alleged actions in a court of law.