GREENBELT, MARYLAND – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Ever Ramiro Torres Enriquez, age 25, of Silver Spring, Maryland, yesterday to 84 months and a day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for the armed robbery of a Takoma Park, Maryland, jewelry store on February 16, 2019, and for brandishing a gun during the robbery. Judge Grimm also ordered Torres to pay restitution of $174,967, which is the full amount of the victim’s loss.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on February 16, 2019, Torres entered the jewelry store and pretended to be looking for jewelry for his girlfriend. Moments later, Torres’s co-conspirator, Douglas Amilcar-Vasquez entered the store brandishing a handgun demanding cash and jewelry. At the same time, Torres pulled out a black rifle, which had been hidden under his clothes and, pointing the rifle at his victims, demanded money and jewelry. At one point during the robbery, Amilcar-Vasquez forcibly removed a necklace from around one customer’s neck. Torres and Amilcar-Vasquez stole $7,900 in cash and over 400 pieces of jewelry valued at $167,067.11. The defendants left the store and forcibly carjacked two male victims in a nearby vehicle and fled the scene. The stolen vehicle was later recovered.
Neither defendant wore gloves during the robbery. Amilcar-Vasquez’s left palm print was lifted from one of the jewelry store’s glass counters and DNA found on gloves recovered from the carjacked vehicle matched DNA from Torres.
Following the robbery, Torres used an identification card with his personal information to pawn several pieces of the stolen jewelry, receiving a total of $630. Torres was arrested on June 14, 2019.
Amilcar-Vasquez, age 35, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges. Judge Grimm scheduled the sentencing for March 16, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Burden H. Walker, who is prosecuting the case.