New Haven Teen Admits Assisting Gas Station Armed Robbery: US Attorney

NEW HAVEN, CT — Robert Smith, 19, of New Haven, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court district court to being part of the 2022 gunpoint robbery of a North Haven gas station, according to U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery.

Robert Smith, 19, pleaded guilty to being part of a 2022 gunpoint robbery of a North Haven gas station: US Attorney.

According to Avery, court documents and statements made in court, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and New Haven investigators identified a person who is alleged to have committed a series of gunpoint robberies and a carjacking in late June and early July 2022. The investigation revealed that Smith assisted that person commit an armed robbery of a Shell Gas Station located at 195 State St. in North Haven on July 6, 2022, Avery said.

Smith pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum term of 20 years, and one count of aiding and abetting the carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of at least seven years, per prosecutors.

Smith has been detained since Jan. 3.

This matter is being investigated by the ATF, with the assistance of the New Haven, East Haven, West Haven, Ansonia, and North Haven police departments.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel J. Gentile and Sean P. Mahard.

Avery thanked the State’s Attorneys for the Judicial Districts of New Haven and Ansonia/Milford "for their cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter," the news release reads.

Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and Smith’s co-defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.