NEWARK, N.J. – Two Newark men who collectively carried out two armed carjackings and one attempted carjacking in September 2013 were each sentenced to prison today, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Dion Hines, 23, and Roosevelt Robinson, 25, were sentenced to 192 and 171 months in prison, respectively. Hines previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with one count of attempted carjacking, two counts of carjacking, and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Robinson previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of attempted carjacking, one count of carjacking, and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Judge Hayden imposed both sentences today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Sept. 22, 2013, Hines, Robinson, and another male individual approached a Mercedes Benz sedan that was parked in a residential driveway in Newark. Hines brandished a handgun and ordered the driver to get out of the vehicle. The victim eventually got out of the car and Robinson sat in the driver’s seat. After Hines and the other male individual fled on foot, the victim fought Robinson, pulled him from the Mercedes Benz, and got back into the vehicle. Hines returned and fired two shots at the Mercedes Benz. Afterwards, Hines, Robinson, and the other male individual fled the scene.
On Sept. 26, 2013, Hines approached two individuals at a parking lot in Newark, threatened them with a handgun, and demanded the keys to their vehicles. After one of the victims gave Hines the keys to a 2009 Acura sedan, he got into the car and fled.
On the morning of Sept. 27, 2013, Hines was traveling in a dark-colored SUV driven by another individual. The SUV pulled in front of a Range Rover stopped at an intersection in Belleville, New Jersey, blocking the Range Rover’s path. Hines got out of the SUV and pointed a handgun at the driver of the Range Rover. Robinson, who followed the SUV in a separate vehicle, pulled over and stood watch. Hines pulled the driver out of the Range Rover, got into the vehicle and fled, followed by the SUV and Robinson’s vehicle.
In addition to the prison terms, Judge Hayden sentenced both Hines and Robinson to five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola in Newark; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; and the Newark, Elizabeth, and Belleville police departments with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Jamari Buxton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs in Newark.
Defense Counsel:
Hines: John Yauch Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark
Robinson: Paul Condon Esq., Jersey City, New Jersey