EAST ORANGE, NJ — Kenneth Graham, 49, of Newark, was indicted by a federal grand jury for his alleged role in a January gunpoint robbery of a cell phone store in East Orange, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced Aug. 19.
Graham is charged by indictment with one count of Hobbs Act Robbery and one count of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on Jan. 18, Graham was in a cell phone store in East Orange when he drew a gun and pointed it at a store employee. Graham ordered the employee to place several cell phones from the display case and cash from the register into Graham’s bag. Video surveillance footage near the store showed Graham enter a black Nissan Altima after the robbery and drive away; witnesses confirmed that Graham was the person entering the Nissan Altima after robbing the store.
The count of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison. It also carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years of prison in this case because Graham was previously convicted of the same crime in 2007 in connection with three gunpoint bank robberies in New Jersey. The sentence on this charge must be consecutive to any other sentence imposed. The Hobbs Act robbery charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law.
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