GREENBELT, MD – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Douglas Amilcar-Vasquez, age 35, of Mexico, to 100 months 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 Amilcar-Vasquez to pay restitution of $174,967, which is the full amount of the victim’s loss. According to information presented at yesterday’s sentencing hearing, Amilcar-Vasquez has two previous convictions for illegally re-entering the United States after being deported.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; 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, Amilcar-Vasquez and his co-defendant, Ever Ramiro Torres Enriquez (“Torres”) robbed a Takoma Park jewelry store on February 16, 2019. Torres entered the jewelry store and pretended to be looking for jewelry for his girlfriend. Moments later, Amilcar-Vasquez entered the store brandishing a handgun and demanded 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 Amilcar-Vasquez used the gun to forcibly carjack two male victims in a nearby vehicle. The defendants then fled the scene in the stolen vehicle, which was later recovered.
Following the robbery, Amilcar-Vasquez and his relatives pawned some of the stolen jewelry. Video surveillance from a pawn shop in Houston, Texas showed Amilcar-Vasquez wearing the necklace that he forcibly removed from the neck of the victim at the jewelry store.
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.
Upon his arrest, a vehicle used by Amilcar-Vasquez was searched. Law enforcement recovered the gun Amilcar-Vasquez brandished during the robbery—a 9mm pistol—which was loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition. Amilcar-Vasquez’s DNA was found on the gun.
Ever Ramiro Torres Enriquez, age 25, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced on January 12, 2021 to seven years and a day in federal prison for the armed robbery and for brandishing a gun during the robbery. Torres Enriquez was also ordered to pay restitution of $174,967.
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.
Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner praised the FBI and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Gardner, who prosecuted the case.
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