Mount Vernon shootout: Five charged with murder after botched robbery at illegal weed warehouse leaves 2 dead
BRONX, NEW YORK: Following a chaotic gunfight at an illegal weed warehouse, where over a dozen individuals stormed the suburban site with the intention of making off with $8 million in cash and a stash of cocaine, five Bronx men were apprehended and face murder and other drug trafficking-related charges.
Federal prosecutors said that two people, an employee and one of the robbers, were killed in the foiled robbery at the illegal Mount Vernon warehouse late on Tuesday, March 19, night.
15 armed thugs storm illegal warehouse
“These five subjects allegedly orchestrated an attempted armed robbery of a warehouse that sells to smoke shops, which quickly turned deadly as a shootout ensued, culminating in the death of both an employee and one robbery crew affiliate,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith stated in public statement.
“The defendants’ alleged brazen actions demonstrate extreme disregard for public safety and posed a significant threat to the community,” Smith said.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan claim that up to fifteen armed thugs, including Ilario Contreras, Jerpi Diaz-Feliez, Jhoan Diaz-Feliz, Victor Jimenez, and Joseph Perez, stormed the warehouse.
According to a press release from the federal government, the business sells "various unlicensed marijuana and nicotine products".
The robbers forced both the staff and customers into the back of the building at gunpoint but the plan failed when the robbers and operation staff got into a gunfight.
When police arrived at the scene on South Fifth Avenue, they found a man who they believed to be one of the robbers, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, according to a federal complaint.
A warehouse worker was found to have multiple wounds to his torso, chest, and abdomen, according to the nine-page complaint. After being brought to Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital, he was pronounced deceased, New York Post reported.
The identities of the two victims are still unknown. Following the attack, police also found 9 mm spent shell casings and an AR-15-style rifle.
Suspects face murder and other charges
The complaint states that two customers arrived at around 10 pm with an order for "a large quantity of vapes and hookahs, among other items," which the warehouse employees were filling out.
The complaint stated that while the workers were loading the goods into their car, 10-15 people jumped out of a nearby van and told everyone to return to the warehouse at gunpoint.
The two victims were killed in the ensuing gunfight, which also forced the other thugs to run for their lives.
However, Mount Vernon police and federal agents located the van in the Bronx and used surveillance footage from the warehouse and the Bronx to find the offenders.
The five arrested persons -Ilario Contreras, Jerpi Diaz-Feliez, Jhoan Diaz-Feliz, Victor Jimenez, and Joseph Perez- are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, one count of conspiracy to engage in drug trafficking, one count of possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking activity, and murder through the use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Authorities believe there is one more mastermind of the foiled robbery and investigation is on. Authorities added that when the thugs carried out the heist, they were under the impression that there were 6 kilograms of cocaine and approximately $8 million in the warehouse.
Mount Vernon Police Commissioner David Gibson said in a statement, “We want to send a message to those who seek to commit heinous crimes in our community. We will partner with local, state and federal partners to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
