Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RASHON GRAY, also known as “Loke,” 24, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 77 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in the armed robbery of a Hamden store in April 2016.

According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 4:22 p.m. on April 27, 2016, two men and two women, who had their head and faces partially concealed, entered the Game X Change in Hamden.  One of the men pulled out a gun and ordered the store’s three employees to get down on the ground.  The man with the gun put his foot on an employee’s back and pressed the gun against the employee’s head and neck, threatening to kill the employee if he did not give him money and the keys to the display case.  The employee complied and the four suspects took several items, including cell phones, an iPad, an iPod, “Beats” headphones, and a cash box that contained $830.  The four ran out of the store to a waiting car.

Investigators subsequently identified GRAY as the individual who brandished the firearm and threatened the store employee.

GRAY was on state probation at the time of the offense.  On May 6, 2016, police and probation officers found him in possession of a cell phone that had been taken during the robbery and his probation was revoked.

GRAY has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on July 21, 2017.  On December 4, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act Robbery.

Four other individuals have been charged and convicted as a result of this investigation.

This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Hamden Police Department, with the assistance of the New Haven Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.