N.J. man admits he helped rob 13 stores in 2 states

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A Union County man pleaded guilty Wednesday to participating in a conspiracy to rob multiple liquor stores and convenience stores in New Jersey and New York during a six-month period.

Jaime Fontanez, 45, of Elizabeth, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to numerous conspiracy and robbery charges. Fontanez also pleaded guilty to two counts of brandishing a firearm while committing a crime of violence, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

“Fontanez conspired with a number of other individuals to commit 13 armed robberies,” Sellinger said in a statement on Thursday. In one of the liquor store robberies, the firearm went off but no injuries were reported.

The robberies occurred from August 2018 through February 2019 at stores in Union, Middlesex and Essex counties, and at businesses in counties within the southern district of New York, according to charging documents.

Police in Elizabeth, Rahway, Woodbridge, Bloomfield, Linden and Kenilworth helped investigate the robberies, along with New Jersey State Police investigators, Sellinger said.

“After entering the businesses, one of the conspirators pointed a firearm at the store clerk while another conspirator went behind the counter to steal money from the cash register,” Selllinger said in the statement.

“On one occasion, one of the conspirators discharged a firearm into the liquor store,” Sellinger said.

Charging documents state while one suspect served as the getaway driver, two others robbed two employees in one of the stores “by means of actual and threatened force, and violence, and fear of injury,” charging documents state.

The charges Fontanez pleaded guilty to are violations of the Hobbs Act, a federal law enacted decades ago that prohibits robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce.

Fontanez faces a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on April 26, 2023, Sellinger said.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com.

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