NJ Man Sentenced to 34 Years in Prison For 9 Armed Robberies

A North Jersey man will spend the next few decades behind bars for committing nine armed robberies in 2018.

Earlier this year, 33-year-old Vincent Chan-Guillen of Union County was convicted of the following charges:

Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery
Conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during a Hobbs Act robbery
3 counts of Hobbs Act robbery
Attempted Hobbs Act robbery
3 counts of brandishing a firearm during a Hobbs Act robbery
Unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

The Hobbs Act, named after Congressman Sam Hobbs of Alabama, was enacted in 1946. It prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion that affects interstate or foreign commerce. It also forbids conspiracy to do so.

On Monday, he was sentenced to 407 months, or just shy of 34 years, in prison.

Chan-Guillen committed nine armed robberies between August and November 2018 -– five in New York and four in New Jersey.

During each robbery, Chan-Guillen brandished a firearm, which he pointed at store employees and customers.

The New Jersey robberies victimized liquor stores in Elizabeth, Woodbridge Township, Bloomfield, and Linden.

In addition to the prison term, Chan-Guillen was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger thanked the FBI; the ATF; the New Jersey State Police; and the Elizabeth, Rahway, Woodbridge, Bloomfield, Linden, Kenilworth, Union, and Lyndhurst Police Departments for their work in this case.