Three Essex County men charged in armed robbery at Orange pharmacy

Orange

By: Richard L. Smith

Three Essex County men were indicted by a federal grand jury for their involvement in a gunpoint robbery of a pharmacy in Orange, New Jersey, in January 2024, prosecutors announced today American Philip R. Sellinger.According to federal officials, Reginald Ware, 54, Nyiron Williams, 22, and Jamon Crosby, 35, all of Newark, face charges in a three-count indictment for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery, and using, transporting, and brandishing a firearm during and in connection with a crime of violence.

The three men, previously charged by complaint and placed in detention, will be brought to court on a date to be determined.

According to court documents and declarations, on January 16, 2024, Ware, Williams and Crosby drove to a pharmacy together and entered the store within minutes of each other, all wearing black masks.

Inside the pharmacy, Ware and Williams brandished handguns and demanded money.

Crosby then joined them, also brandishing a handgun, and the trio demanded that store employees hand over their cell phones.

The thieves took cash and at least 10 bottles of prescription drugs. When law enforcement arrived, the men fled toward a parking lot.

Ware was apprehended immediately in the parking lot, Williams was arrested about two blocks away, and Crosby was found after breaking into a nearby residence.

The handguns used by Ware and Williams in the robbery were recovered by law enforcement.

The charge of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

For Williams and Crosby, there is a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, while Ware faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years due to a previous conviction for the same crime in 2012, related to four drugstore robberies under threat of ‘a gun in New Jersey.

This sentence must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed.

The Hobbs Act and Hobbs Act counts of conspiracy to commit robbery each carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or double the gain or loss resulting from the infringement, whichever is greater.

United States Attorney Sellinger assigned the investigation leading to today’s charges to FBI Special Agents, 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.