dropped nearly $5 million in diamonds and gems as he fled from a Greenwich jewelry store.
Eric Ortiz pleaded guilty in New Haven on Thursday to one count of committing Hobbs Act robbery. The Hobbs Act is a federal
law prohibiting violence that could affect interstate commerce.
Prosecutors say the 36-year-old admitted that he aided the armed robbery of Betteridge Jewelers in September 2006. He and an
accomplice lit a car on fire near the store to create a diversion, then fled in a different car.
At the same time, another man in a motorcycle helmet held up the store at gunpoint. But after being confronted by a police
officer, the robber dropped the backpack containing the stolen jewelry while racing away on a motorcycle.
Ortiz, who has been in custody nearly a year, faces 20 years in prison when he is sentenced May 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment