Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict yesterday against JUSTIN HAMPTON on robbery, armed robbery, and firearms counts. HAMPTON is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2023, by U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Justin Hampton terrorized hardworking New Yorkers with his three-week spree of gunpoint robberies, brandishing a loaded firearm and stealing cash, lottery tickets, and cigarettes. A jury has now found Hampton guilty, and he faces prison time for his crimes.”
According to the superseding Indictment and the evidence at trial:
Between October 18, 2021, and November 10, 2021, HAMPTON and co-conspirators committed 14 robberies of dollar stores, convenience stores, gas stations, and restaurants. HAMPTON operated as the gunman for the robbery crew. He entered each of the commercial establishments late at night or early in the morning, brandished a firearm at employees, and demanded cash, large volumes of lottery tickets, and cigarettes. HAMPTON and his co-conspirators typically fled the scene in HAMPTON’s car and, on multiple occasions, cashed stolen lottery tickets to obtain lottery winnings shortly after the robberies.
After HAMPTON and his crew committed 12 robberies, law enforcement seized HAMPTON’s car and later recovered a gun hidden in the car’s ceiling. Despite the seizure of his car and gun, HAMPTON went on to commit two additional robberies using a motorized scooter and a pellet gun that resembled a real gun.
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HAMPTON, 34, of New York, was convicted on one count of robbery conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; two counts of robbery, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of brandishing a firearm during a robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Joint Robbery Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the New York City Police Department.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Madison Reddick Smyser, Brandon C. Thompson, and Thane Rehn are in charge of the prosecution.