Defendants Charged in Armed Robbery of Jewelry Store in Downtown Brooklyn

Robbers Posed as Construction Workers, Pistol-Whipped Store Owner, Then Fled Into Subway Station

Earlier today, Darryl Odom was arrested in connection with the May 25, 2017 armed robbery of Court Street Jewelers located at 60 Court Street in Brooklyn, New York.  Odom and three coconspirators who were previously arrested – Kenneth Davis, Shaka Davis and Lashawn Williams – are charged in a superseding indictment in the Eastern District of New York with Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy and brandishing a firearm during the commission of the robbery.  Odom and another coconspirator, Leonard Hinton, are also charged in the indictment with the robbery at knifepoint of a jewelry store at 98 Smith Street in Brooklyn on February 10, 2017.  Odom is scheduled to be arrigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James Orenstein.

Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges.

According to the court documents, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Odom and his coconspirators entered the jewelry store at 60 Court Street disguised as construction workers while another perpetrator waited outside as a lookout.  Once inside the store, one of the robbers pistol-whipped the store owner with a gun, causing lacerations to his head.  Odom and the other perpetrators grabbed several hundred thousand dollars in cash and jewelry during the robbery.  They fled to a nearby subway station where their images were recorded by surveillance cameras.  Law enforcement officers collected numerous pieces of evidence dropped by the perpetrators in the subway station, including gloves worn during the robbery, a hardhat and an envelope containing approximately $10,000 in cash.

“As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators engaged in a violent gunpoint robbery in broad daylight, then tied-up and beat the store owner,” stated Acting United States Attorney Rohde.  “Thanks to the relentless investigative efforts by our law enforcement partners at the ATF and the NYPD, the defendants will now he held to account for their crimes.”

“Darryl Odom is alleged to have participated in an armed robbery of a jewelry store during which the store owner was violently assaulted and injured as a result.  The defendants are alleged to have escaped with jewelry, gold and cash,” stated ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Benedict.  “This was a carefully organized crime, even going so far as to have a participant wait outside wearing a disposable hazmat suit hold a sign that asbestos work was underway in order to prevent others from entering the store while the robbery took place.  I would like to extend my gratitude to the Special Agents and NYPD Detectives on the ATF/NYPD SPARTA Joint Robbery Task Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work in swiftly bringing the defendants to justice.”

 “Thanks to the NYPD and our law enforcement partners these individuals were apprehended following an armed robbery that played out in a local business and on the streets of New York City,” stated Police Commissioner O’Neill. “I commend the investigators involved who worked diligently to ensure these individuals were held accountable for this act of violence.”

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Josh Hafetz and Special Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Saltzman are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

DARRYL ODOM

Age: 53

Residence: Bronx, New York

KENNETH DAVIS

Age: 52

Residence: Brooklyn, New York

SHAKA DAVIS

Age: 29

Residence: Brooklyn, New York

LASHAWN WILLIAMS (“Ron Johnson”)

Age: 48

Residence: Bronx, New York

LEONARD HINTON (“Bebe”)

Age: 54

Residence: Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-MJ-668; 17-CR-432 (BMC)

Field Division: New York Field Division