2 men charged in luxury watch robbery spree across NYC
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Two men are charged in connection with a luxury watch robbery spree across New York City, New Jersey and Long Island.
Court documents allege Victor Rivera, 30, and Johan Araujo, 40, committed a series of 11 robberies and attempted robberies of jewelers in New York and New Jersey starting in October 2019.
They are accused of robbing victims of luxury watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars each.
Some of the stolen watch brands include Richard Mille, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe.
Rivera allegedly used guns to commit several of the robberies.
In one robbery, he is accused of shooting a victim. That victim survived.
Araujo was arrested on July 23 and Rivera was already in custody in connection to a November 2020 indictment.
They are facing charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, attempted robbery, attempted extortion, interstate transportation of stolen property, money laundering, and firearms offenses.
"As alleged in the Indictment, the defendants committed a series of armed robberies and attempted robberies of jewelers and other owners of luxury watches in and around New York City," U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said. "In one of these robberies, a victim was shot. Thanks to the outstanding work of the NYPD and Special Agents of our Office, time ran out on the defendants, who now face federal charges for their alleged crimes."
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