Overview
- The defendants, arraigned Thursday in Central Islip on Hobbs Act robbery and related counts that carry up to 30 years, pleaded not guilty and were ordered held without bail by U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields.
- Prosecutors say the crew hijacked an Apple delivery at Americana Manhasset on January 3, forced two workers at gunpoint to a nearby lot, zip-tied them, and shifted the load into a rented Home Depot box truck.
- Investigators cite surveillance video, phone location data, fake-ID rental records, and fingerprints, including Cedeno-Ferrer’s on a truck rental agreement recovered from the vehicle.
- The Home Depot truck turned up abandoned in the Bronx on January 5, and the stolen devices were tracked to a Paterson, New Jersey storage unit rented by Mejia-Nunez and Sirett-Padilla.
- Prosecutors working with the FBI, the NYPD, and Nassau police say the men entered the U.S. unlawfully, a flight-risk factor they raised and one that could trigger deportation if they are convicted.