HV Man Accused Of Organizing Armed Robberies Of Drug Dealers

MONTGOMERY, NY — An Orange County man was accused of organizing multiple armed robberies of drug dealers and runners in parts of the metropolitan area with six others.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing Wednesday of an indictment of six charges against Patrick Chellel, 31, of Montgomery.

The charges include narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing and discharging firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence and others.

Chellel was arrested Wednesday. Also included in the indictment were Darren Lindsay, 31, Antoine Koen, 30, Robert Ojeda, 31, Onitayo Are, 29, Indigo Grant, 30, and Patricia Konco, 32.

Williams said Chellel organized and directed a violent conspiracy to rob suspected drug dealers and associates at gunpoint in Orange County, the Bronx and Hartford, Connecticut.

"Chellel and his robbery crew allegedly engaged in serious acts of violence and sophisticated methods to track their victims," he said, "including a hidden Apple Watch on a victim's car.

"Today's arrest is part of our continued commitment with our law enforcement partners to root out gun violence in our communities," Williams said.

According to prosecutors, from November 2019 through January 2020, Chellel and the others conspired to rob suspected drug dealers and associates of drugs and drug proceeds.

On Nov. 14, 2019, police said Chellel and Lindsay organized a plan to rob a suspected drug dealer at their home in Mount Hope, where the victims were assaulted at gunpoint.

On Dec. 15, 2019, Lindsay, Kown, and Ojeda robbed at gunpoint suspected drug dealers of marijuana at a home in the Bronx, according to authorities.

Finally, police said, Lindsay, Koen, Are, Grant and Konco, at Chelle's direction, committed a violent gunpoint robbery of a drug runner in a hotel parking garage after surreptitiously tracking the victim's location with a hidden Apple Watch, resulting in about $500,000 in drug proceeds stolen.

The maximum potential sentences for the robbery charges are 20 years in prison.

Williams said the investigation is ongoing and asked anyone with relevant information to call the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI.