ANSONIA — Twin brothers from Bridgeport face a maximum 20 years in prison each after pleading guilty Wednesday to participating in a violent robbery and carjacking more than two years ago.
Antoine Snell and Treyquane Snell are scheduled to be sentenced in in federal court Nov. 6.
According to federal prosecutors, the Snells ordered food from an Ansonia restaurant four days before Christmas in 2016, then lay in wait for the delivery driver to arrive.
They beat the man, causing serious injuries, including multiple broken bones to the man’s face, according to a prepared statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
They also stole the victim’s 2009 Honda Accord, authorities said.
A grand jury initially charged the pair in January 2019 with carjacking resulting in serious bodily harm, and “Hobbs Act” robbery.
They pleaded guilty Wednesday to the Hobbs Act crime.
The Hobbs Act is a federal law enacted in 1946 that, in part, makes it a crime to interfere with interstate commerce, including by robbery or extortion.
The victim owned and operated a restaurant that engaged in interstate commerce, such as using packaging and food that came from elsewhere, according to the indictment.
A third robber, unnamed in the federal paperwork, was arrested and faced charges in state court.
The Valley Indy has previously identified the third man as Desmond Hamilton,19. In January he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.
The Snell brothers are both 20.
According to previous Valley Indy reporting, the 2016 crime happened just before 9 p.m.
The victim told police a man approached him on Dwight Street saying he had ordered the food, then pointed a gun at him. Two other men jumped him.
Police zeroed-in on the suspects by tracking the cell phone number used to order the food. According to an arrest warrant, the twin Snell brothers were “heavily involved in stolen car activity” in the region and were members of a crew connected to the Bloods street gang.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Ansonia Police Department. The case was being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas P. Morabito and Maria del Pilar Gonzalez.
