NEWARK, NJ — William Valentin, 43, of Newark, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the September 2017 armed robbery of a jewelry exchange in Elizabeth, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced Aug. 25.
Valentin was previously found guilty of one count of conspiring to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of committing Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of conspiring to use a firearm during a crime of violence. The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Valentin was convicted following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo, who imposed the sentence Aug. 25 in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial, on the morning of Sept. 5, 2017, four masked individuals, led by Valentin, entered a jewelry exchange located in Elizabeth. Valentin brandished a firearm at an employee while the other conspirators unloaded the contents of the store’s safes into large bags. Video surveillance showed Valentin and other conspirators entering the mall, approaching the jewelry exchange and running out with the bags of jewelry. Afterward, Valentin and his conspirators drove away in a black Audi. In January 2018, Valentin was arrested in Holyoke, Mass., with a backpack containing jewelry stolen from the Elizabeth exchange in his possession.
In addition to the prison term, Arleo sentenced Valentin to five years of supervised release.
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