Miami - Tuesday January 16, 2024: Two Fort Pierce men were sentenced to federal prison last Friday, January 12th, after pleading guilty to Hobbs Act robbery charges and admitting to brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
21-year-old Eugene Jacques just over ten years. 23-year-old Roderick Anthony Baker was sentenced to seven years and four months. U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg also ordered that each of the sentences be followed by three years of supervised release.
The case against thembegan on April 24, 2023, when the Fort Pierce Police Department (FPPD) received a 911 call at 5:54 a.m. reporting an armed robbery at a gas station and food mart on Orange Avenue in Fort Pierce.
Officers responded to the scene and interviewed the female teller who was the victim of the robbery. She told police that Jacques and Baker entered the gas station and food mart and looked around as if they were shopping.
Jacques then approached her and asked for Advil pills and then waived a small purple and black handgun. Jacques pushed his way into the glass enclosure while Baker followed him. Jacques pointed the handgun at the victim’s face, struck her in the head, and said “Give me the money.” After forcing the victim to open the cash register, Jacques and Baker took about $2,000 and placed the money in a plastic bag they had brought with them. Jacques and Baker also stole a small box containing about $2,200 and fled.
Baker was arrested on May 1 last year, and Jacques was brought into custody 3 days later.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and FPPD Chief Diane Hobley-Burney, announced the sentences imposed by Judge Rosenberg.
ATF Fort Pierce Field Office and FPPD investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter prosecuted it.
This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement, and the community, to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.