NEW HAVEN — A federal grand jury indicted a 24-year-old Seymour resident Tuesday for his alleged role in a string of robberies in Connecticut.
Steven Galarza is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and eight counts of Hobbs Act robbery.
The Hobbs Act is a 1946 federal law “that makes it a federal crime to commit robbery (or attempt to do so) in a way that affects interstate commerce,” according to the SCOTUS Blog, an independent news site that covers the U.S. Supreme Court.
Galarza was indicted with two other suspects: Efrain DeLeon, 58, of New Britain, and Gilberto DeLeon, 56, of New Britain.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut issued a press statement Wednesday alleging the trio used “facsimile firearms,” fake guns that look like the real thing, to target and rob eight convenience stores and smoke shops in Connecticut this year between Feb. 27 and March 22.
They stole cash, cigarettes and other items not named by the feds.
According to the government, they hit:
Feb. 27 – Scott’s Village Mobil Gas Station, 843 Farmington Avenue, Farmington
March 2 – Mystic Mobil Gas Station, 66 Whitehall Avenue, Mystic
March 3 – Shell Gas Station, 168 Bridge Street, East Windsor
March 3 – Food Bag, 960 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, Southington
March 5 – Valero Gas Station, 1 Main Street, Ellington
March 5 – Sunoco Gas Station, 446 Bloomfield Avenue, Windsor
March 8 – Smoker’s Discount World, 636 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield
March 16 – Cove Smoke Market, located at 841 Cove Road, Stamford
They were arrested on April 19, 2022, on a federal criminal complaint emanating from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The complaint from New York alleged the trio was involved in 11 robberies total, including ones that took place in New Hampshire and New York (hence the federal charges).
FBI agents developed the trio as suspects using surveillance video from the stores and surrounding areas. The different images from the different robberies show people wearing similar clothes. Images of a BMW and a license plate were also captured, which law enforcement officials were able to trace to Gilberto DeLeon, the vehicle’s alleged registrant.
The BMW was tracked down to Galarza’s residence in Seymour, according to a court filing.
The FBI raided Galarza’s residence in April armed with a search warrant, and allegedly found clothes matching the clothes seen in the robbery surveillance video.
A court filing also says the FBI recovered tobacco products and two facsimile firearms.
Galarza allegedly waived his right to remain silent and admitted to participating in 11 robberies, and said the BMW from the robbery video was his. The FBI said they were able to determine that some of the tobacco products found in Galarza’s residence were stolen in the robberies.
Each of the nine charges lodged against the three men carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
