Trio is charged in gunpoint robbery of Orange drug store

Three Newark men were indicted by a federal grand jury for their role in a January 2024 gunpoint robbery of a pharmacy in Orange, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Reginald Ware, 54, Nyiron Williams, 22, and Jamon Crosby, 35, all of Newark, are charged in a three-count indictment with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Ware, Williams and Crosby, who were previously charged by complaint and were detained, will be arraigned on a date to be determined.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Jan. 16, Ware, Williams, and Crosby drove together to a pharmacy and then entered the pharmacy within minutes of each other while wearing black masks. Once inside the pharmacy, Ware and Williams each brandished a handgun and demanded money.

Crosby then entered the pharmacy, brandished a handgun, and the three men demanded that the store employees hand over their cell phones. Ware, Williams and Crosby then took cash and at least 10 bottles of prescription medication.

Once they noticed that law enforcement had arrived, Ware, Williams and Crosby ran out of the store toward a parking lot. Ware was immediately apprehended in the parking lot, Williams was apprehended approximately two blocks away, and Crosby was apprehended after breaking into a nearby residence.

The handguns that Ware and Williams brandished during the robbery were recovered by law enforcement.

The count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and in this case, a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison for Williams and Crosby, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for Ware because he was previously convicted of the same crime in 2012 in connection with four gunpoint robberies of pharmacies in New Jersey.

The sentence on this charge must be consecutive to any other sentence imposed. The conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and Hobbs Act robbery counts each carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy, and members of the Orange Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Todd Warren, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.

  Orange, robbery