Armed Robber Sentenced to 24 Years in Federal Prison

MADISON, WIS. -- John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that James Sexton, 35, Madison, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 24 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, for committing five armed robberies of businesses in the Madison area in 2014. Sexton pleaded guilty to these charges on June 4, 2015.

Sexton was sentenced for committing the following five armed robberies:

    1. Pizza Extreme on Monroe Street, on April 29;

    Burrito Drive on Brearly Street, on May 4;

    Players Sports Bar and Grill on Winnebago Street, on May 7;

    Toppers Pizza on Mineral Point Road, on May 13; and

    Market Basket on Mifflin Street, on May 15.

Sexton admitted that during each robbery, a handgun was brandished. He also admitted that during the Burrito Drive and Players Sports Bar and Grill robberies, his accomplice sprayed an unknown chemical at the employees or patrons of these businesses, and that during the Toppers Pizza robbery, the accomplice displayed a canister containing an unknown chemical.

Sexton committed the Market Basket robbery by himself and he also pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm during that robbery. An external surveillance video from a nearby neighbor helped law enforcement identify the car used in the robbery, and that led to Sexton being identified as the robber.

Sexton faced a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years for brandishing a firearm during the Market Basket robbery, followed by an advisory guideline range sentence of 188 – 235 months for the robberies. Sexton asked for an 87-month sentence for the robberies, and Judge Crabb declined, stating:

“You terrified the people you robbed. The idea of being an employee working United States Attorney John W. Vaudreuil Western District of Wisconsin when someone comes in the store with a gun…it is so terrifying. They had no idea if you were going to shoot them. It is incomprehensible how you could have caused that much terror. You are an extreme danger to society because you committed serious crimes for small amounts of money.”

Sexton was also ordered to pay $4,100 in restitution.

The charges against Sexton were the result of an investigation by the Madison Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rita M. Rumbelow.

FBI Agents Arrest Udeil Delton Yates in Queens

Wanted for Murder and Robbery in Virginia

This morning at approximately 10:30 a.m., FBI agents arrested Udeil Delton Yates without incident outside a residence at 41-03 108th Street, Queens, New York. Yates was arrested on a warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

The arrest was made with the assistance of the New York City Police Department’s Manhattan Warrant Squad. Yates was charged on July 20, 2012 by the commonwealth of Virginia with first-degree murder, malicious wounding, two counts of robbery, four counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery.

“This arrest is another fine example of the outstanding cooperation the FBI shares with local police departments around the nation, in furtherance of our common goal of getting violent criminals off our streets,” said Special Agent in Charge April Brooks.

Detroit Man Sentenced to 120 Months for CVS Drug Store Robbery

A 49-year-old Detroit man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Detroit for armed robbery and related charges, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. Ms. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley, III, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Andra Coleman was sentenced by the Honorable Marianne O. Battani to 120 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release.

The facts established in court are that Coleman entered the CVS Pharmacy at 8900 Telegraph in the city of Redford on January 15, 2012. Armed with a handgun, Coleman first disarmed the security guard working in the pharmacy. As the store manager saw the masked gunman, he quickly dialed 911. Employees of the pharmacy were threatened, forced into the manager’s office, and ordered to the floor. Mr. Coleman then ordered the manager, at gunpoint, to open the store safe. Coleman took about $1,500 and fled.

Officers recovered two weapons along a path that Coleman took as he fled the scene. The gun that Coleman had brought with him, fully loaded with a round chambered, had been reported as stolen in Detroit a few months earlier.

United States Attorney Barbara McQuade stated, “Criminals who commit violent crimes with guns harm our quality of life. Stiff sentences like this one are needed to protect the public.”

Special Agent in Charge Foley stated, “Gun violence instills fear in our communities and endangers lives. The FBI is committed to arresting those responsible and seeing them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The cooperative efforts of the Redford and Dearborn Police Departments, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crime Task Force, were recognized and applauded by U.S. Attorney McQuade. Assistant United States Attorney John O’Brien of the office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit prosecuted the case for the United States.

Federal Grand Jury Returns Indictments

MADISON, WI—A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. A charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Marshfield Man Charged with Armed Robbery of Controlled Substance

Dustin Jon Fritz, 31, Marshfield, Wisconsin, is charged with taking a quantity of a controlled substance during the robbery of a Walgreens in Marshfield on June 15, 2012. The indictment also alleges that Fritz used a firearm during the robbery.

Fritz was arrested by the Marshfield Police Department shortly after the robbery occurred.

If convicted, Fritz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on the robbery charge and a mandatory seven years to life on the using a firearm during a crime of violence count, which would be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Marshfield Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin F. Burke.

Janesville Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

Daniel J. Courtney, 23, Janesville, Wisconsin, is charged with possession of a computer hard drive containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment alleges that Courtney possessed the child pornography on November 9, 2011.

If convicted, Courtney faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Inmate Charged with Possession of Marijuana

Christopher Sinclair, 32, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at Oxford, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing a prohibited object, namely marijuana. The indictment alleges that he possessed the marijuana on March 19, 2012.

If convicted, Sinclair faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Prisons. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Fillbach Lenzendorf.