3 Men Charged In Armed Robbery Spree In Union, Middlesex, Essex

ELIZABETH NJ — Three men from Elizabeth were charged with robbing liquor stores at gunpoint in Middlesex, Union and Essex counties in November 2018, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Paul Jimenez, 29, Jaime Fontanez, 41, and Vincent Chan-Guillen, 28, of Elizabeth are all charged with one count of conspiring to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

Jimenez is also charged with five counts of Hobbs Act robbery and Fontanez and Chan-Guillen are charged with four counts of Hobbs Act robbery.

The three men allegedly were connected with a string of armed robberies at liquor stores in Middlesex, Union and Essex counties beginning in November 2018, which the FBI investigated.

During each robbery, one of the men would allegedly point a handgun at the store clerk while another went behind the counter and stole money from the cash register, according to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

During an Essex County robbery, one of the men fired a shot as they ran from the store. No one was reportedly injured. That gun was later found in Chan-Guillen’s possession on Nov. 30, 2018, according to the report.

The three men could face 20 years in prison on the Hobbs Act charges; life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence; and life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Each count also carries a potential $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

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