Five armed men dressed up as law enforcement officers as they broke into homes across Florida, Georgia and Arizona and handcuffed the homeowners while they stole their belongings, authorities have announced.
The group — comprising Florida men Darius Hudson, Chrishawn De’Earl Butler, Daniel Jackson, Reginald Robert Jr and Nathaniel Carr — drove around in a black Dodge Durango and a white Chevrolet Malibu equipped with blue flashing lights and wore all black gloves, clothes, masks and vests with “Sheriff” emblazoned on them, the Department of Justice has said.
They targeted people they believed to be distributing narcotics as they woke families up in the middle of the night between December 2020 and April 2021, according to prosecutors.
The group would then allegedly handcuff their victims, and beat, pistol-whip and sometimes even shoot the homeowners as they made away with their belongings.
In one incident described in an affidavit, the five men invaded a home they believed was a marijuana farm, while three people were sleeping inside.
“The suspects proceeded to forcefully move the victims to the living room and pistol-whipped them,” an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit obtained by Law & Crime.
“They demanded cash and began searching the residence,” the agent wrote. “The suspects stole two Apple iPhones and an 18-karat gold chain link necklace” before they “fled through the front door and gunshots were heard coming from the general area where the suspects had fled.”
Another time, the FBI agent wrote, the suspects hit a home in Lakeland, Fl. “known to be associated with a known drug dealer… who also operated an illegal gambling business at the residence.”
Police were later called to the scene by a woman who claimed her brother was hit over the head and shot at, before the suspects fled.
When police arrived, they found “blood drops leading from the porch to the bathroom located on the first floor” and determined that a rifle had been stolen, according to the affidavit.
Butler, Roberts and Carr would later plead guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing and discharging firearms in the commission of violence, the Justice Department announced.
The three also apparently identified their other co-conspirators as Jackson and Hudson —- who was found guilty this week of conspiracy to commit three separate Hobbs Act robberies and discharging a gun during a crime of violence.
Jasmine Weber, 28, of Tampa, was also sentenced in December for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.
Hobbs Act violations occur when an actual or attempted robbery or extortion affects interstate or foreign commerce.
Authorities say Weber knew the members would be carrying out the crimes by pretending to be law enforcement — and even purchased equipment like sheriff’s vests, law enforcement patches and light bars for the group to pull off their heists.
The members of the group would also allegedly provide Weber with information about their potential victims, and she would use her job as a claims adjuster to find their home addresses.
The three men who confessed to the crimes now face a mandatory minimum sentence of 14 years up to life in prison, while Hudson, 44, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 27 years and up to life in prison.
Weber also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for her role.
Sentencing dates have not yet been set, and Jackson is still awaiting trial.
It is unclear if he has retained an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
