A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to offenses related to a series of gunpoint robberies targeting individual sellers of luxury goods over online marketplaces in 2022, according to federal authorities.
Jalen Lasalle, 20 of Hartford, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, or Hobbs Act robbery, and two counts of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, according to federal authorities.
Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said the case stems from an investigation by the Hartford and Middletown police departments into a series of gunpoint robberies of individuals who “advertised items for sale on internet marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp.”
“At an arranged meeting place to sell their items, which included cell phones and luxury sneakers and accessories, the purported purchaser would brandish a firearm, force the victim to hand over the luxury goods, and flee,” authorities said in a statement.
The probe revealed Lasalle and John Villegas, also known as “Kirby,” did five armed robberies in Hartford in late August and early September 2022, and that Villegas, with Valerie Meneses, also committed an armed robbery in August 2022 in Middletown, authorities said.
Lasalle was arrested on February 3, 2023. He is free on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for January 7.
Villegas and Meneses, both of Hartford, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, authorities said. Villegas has been detained since his arrest on Dec, 14, 2022, and Meneses is free on bond.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Hartford Police Department, and the Middletown Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and A. Reed Durham.
Vanessa Roberts Avery, US Attorney for Connecticut, said anyone who sells or purchases items online, and needs to meet an individual in person to complete the sale, should “use a visible, monitored location” or contact the local police department to see if it offers a monitored meeting location, or search online for a nearby monitored location.
