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Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty To Robbing 16 Businesses In New Mexico, Texas And Colorado

Christopher Perea, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the Hobbs Act by robbing 16 businesses involved in interstate commerce.  The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

 

Perea was arrested in Oct. 2012, based on an indictment charging him with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing an Albuquerque business that was engaged in interstate commerce.

 

During today’s proceedings, Perea entered a guilty plea to the one-count indictment and a 15-count felony information charging him with interfering with interstate commerce by robbing the following 16 businesses between May 2012 and July 2012:

 

·         Satellite Coffee on Montgomery Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on May 11, 2012;

·         Subway located on Louisiana NE in Albuquerque on June 1, 2012;

·         Kentucky Fried Chicken on San Mateo NE in Albuquerque on June 7, 2012;

·         Radio Shack on Lomas NE in Albuquerque on June 10, 2012;

·         Subway on Jefferson NE in Albuquerque on June 17, 2012;

·         Subway on Montgomery Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on June 21, 2012;

·         Flower Company on Juan Tabo NW in Albuquerque on June 21, 2012;

·         GameStop on Lamar Blvd. in Austin, Texas, on June 26, 2012;

·         GameStop on Brodie Lane in Sunset Valley, Texas, on June 27, 2012;

·         GameStop on N IH 35 in Austin, Texas, on June 28, 2012;

·         GameStop on The Lakes Blvd. in Austin, Texas, on July 2, 2012;

·         Radio Shack on Colorado Blvd. in Denver, Colo., on July 5, 2012;

·         GameStop on E. Quincy Ave. in Aurora, Colo., on July 7, 2012;

·         Radio Shack on Colfax Ave. in Denver, Colo., on July 7, 2012;

·         Hobby Lobby on S. Monaco Pkwy. in Denver, Colo., on July 9, 2012; and

·         GameStop on Southgate Rd. in Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 10, 2012.

 

In entering guilty pleas to the robberies he committed in Texas and Colorado, Perea waived his right to be tried separately in Texas and Colorado for the crimes committed in those states, and instead agreed to consolidate all the proceedings in the District of New Mexico.

 

Perea has been in federal custody since his arrest in Oct. 2012, and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing.  Perea faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years on each of the 16 Hobbs Act counts to which he pleaded guilty. 

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI.  The FBI partnered with APD to investigate the Albuquerque robberies; it partnered with the Austin (Texas) Police Department to investigate the Texas robberies and with the Aurora (Colorado) Police Department to investigate the Colorado robberies. 

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon K. Stanford is prosecuting the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.