Hartford Man Gets Decade In Prison For AT&T Robberies: Feds

HARTFORD/BRIDGEPORT, CT — A Hartford man will spend a decade behind bars for his role in a 2021 crime spree targeting AT&T stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said Tuesday that Ronaldo Smith, 25, of Hartford, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport.

She said Smith was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for his involvement in a spree of violent robberies of AT&T stores in Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2021, Smith, Alex Josephs, Shaquille Raymond and Deshawn Baugh committed several violent armed robberies of the stores.

Federal officials said the perpetrators typically entered the stores shortly before closing, pointed weapons at employees, and, at times, pistol-whipped, dragged and shoved employees toward the back inventory room.

They then held the employees at gunpoint while loading large bags with cell phones and other electronics, Avery said.

The group stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise, she said.

Saviana Bourne, who worked at AT&T stores, helped plan the robberies, served as a getaway driver, and coordinated the sale of the stolen merchandise, authorities said.

The investigation revealed Smith, Josephs and Raymond robbed AT&T stores in Newington on Jan. 29, 2021, and Enfield on Feb. 24, 2021, official said.

Baugh then joined the conspiracy and they robbed an AT&T store in Canton on April 15, 2021, and attempted to rob stores in Torrington and Glastonbury in May 2021, but were locked out, officials said.

On June 6, 2021, Smith and his associates, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, two revolvers, and a semiautomatic rifle, robbed an AT&T store in West Springfield, Mass., officials said.

After the robbery, they fled in a vehicle driven by Bourne, who led police on a high-speed chase that ended when their vehicle collided with a Massachusetts State Police cruiser.

Smith, Josephs, Raymond, Baugh and Bourne were arrested, and a search of the vehicle revealed more than $150,000 in stolen merchandise, as well as the firearms used during the robbery.

Underhill ordered Smith to pay restitution of $298,074, which reflects the losses from the Newington, Enfield and Canton robberies. The property stolen in the West Springfield robbery was recovered.

Smith has been detained since his arrest. On Jan. 5, 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Josephs, Raymond, Baugh and Bourne also pleaded guilty and were sentenced to jail and ordered to pay restitution, officials said.

Josephs and Raymond, who are citizens of Jamaica, face immigration proceedings when they are released from prison.

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