May 12, 2008

JEWELRY STORE ROBBERS SENTENCED TO JAIL

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated today that three Massachusetts residents, Nicholas Blagojevic, 27, Wesley Rose, 26, and Allison Martino, 21, were sentenced to jail on Friday, May 9, on their convictions for interstate robbery.

On January 24, 2007, Blagojevic, Rose and Martino drove from Massachusetts to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where they robbed Dana Jewelry during business hours of about $140,000 worth of jewelry. After Martino visited the store and confirmed that only one female employee was present, Blagojevic and Rose entered with plastic flex-ties, duct tape, and a crowbar. The two men took the employee into a back room and bound her wrists and ankles with flex-ties. They then stole about $140,000 worth of jewelry.
Shortly before the robbery, a Harwich, Massachusetts police Detective investigating Blagojevic for a string of residential burglaries had obtained permission from a Massachusetts court to place a GPS device on Blagojevic's car. On the day of the robbery the Detective saw the car drive to St. Johnsbury and contacted the Vermont State Police, who had just responded to the robbery. The GPS device allowed Massachusetts authorities to arrest the thieves, and retrieve the stolen jewelry, that same day, when the thieves returned to Massachusetts.

In February, 2007, Blagojevic, Martino and Rose were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Vermont for traveling interstate to commit robbery. In December, 2007, they pleaded guilty.

At sentencing in Brattleboro on Friday, Judge J. Garvan Murtha sentenced Blagojevic to 92 months in federal prison and three years supervised release, Rose to 57 months in federal prison and three years supervised release, and Martino to 115 days imprisonment. Blagojevic and Rose, both drug addicts with prior criminal histories, were also ordered to pay restitution for damage to the store. The victim employee attended the sentencing hearing and described her experience to the court.
The investigation was conducted by the Vermont State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney William Darrow. Blagojevic was represented by attorneys Christopher Davis and Devon McLaughlin of Burlington; Rose was represented by John Mabie of Brattleboro, and Martino was represented by Elizabeth Mann of the Federal Public Defender's Office.