Essex County Men Sentenced for Black Friday Armed Robbery of Target Store

Two Essex County men were each sentenced to over 10 years in prison for robbing a Target Store in Union on Black Friday in November of 2012.

The robbery took place on “Black Friday,” which falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving and is popularly known as the busiest shopping day of the year.

According to court documents and statements, four men – Lavell Jones, 29, of East Orange, Darrell A. Carter, 25, of Irvington, DaQuaan Vaughn, 36, of Newark, and Maryland Liggins III, 30, of Newark – worked together to rob the Target store on Springfield Avenue.

Each man had a particular role in the robbery.

Jones posed as a shopper and served as a lookout inside the store. He also alerted the others when the store was closing and money was being transferred from the store’s registers to the cash room.

Before closing, Carter and Vaughn waited in the bathroom. When an employee entered the bathroom, Carter and Vaughn restrained the employee and threatened him with a gun. After the store closed, Carter and Vaughn entered the cash room, restrained other Target employees with zip ties and robbed them at gunpoint, stealing more than $50,000 from a cash cart and safe.

The men then fled the store and ran out to a vehicle - piloted by getaway driver Liggins - that was parked on the shoulder of nearby Route 78.

HOBBS ACT

Both Essex County men were charged under the Hobbs Act, an anti-racketeering law passed in 1946, which is designed to protect “interstate commerce” from violent robbery and extortion.

Federal law provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for a Hobbs Act crime.

Jones previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to an indictment charging him with one count of Hobbs Act robbery. Carter previously pleaded guilty before Judge Thompson to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Thompson imposed both sentences - 130 months in prison - in Trenton federal court.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Jones to three years of supervised release and Carter to five years of supervised release. Jones and Carter were ordered to pay $54,000 in restitution to Target, and all of the defendants have the same restitution obligation until the full $54,000 is satisfied.