Massachusetts Woman Pleads Guilty in Federal Court in Robbery and Murder of Woonsocket Gas Station Manager

PROVIDENCE, RI—Kelley M. Lajoie, 33, of Chicopee, Mass., pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence today to Hobbs Act robbery and firearm charges for her participation in the September 2010 robbery and murder of David D. Main, 49, of Woonsocket, R.I. The Shell Gas Station manager was followed as he drove from a Woonsocket gas station to a nearby bank, then chased on foot, robbed and shot to death as he attempted to enter the bank to make a deposit.

Lajoie pled guilty to one count each of Hobbs Act conspiracy; aiding and abetting a Hobbs Act robbery; and use of a firearm during a federal crime of violence. Jason W. Pleau, 34, of Providence, R.I., and Jose A. Santiago, 34, of Chicopee, Mass., co-defendants in this matter, are charged with the same crimes. Their cases are pending in federal district court.

Lajoie’s guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas S. Carey; Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office.

Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith, Lajoie admitted that on September 20, 2010, she participated in a conspiracy and robbery which resulted in the murder of David Main. Lajoie admitted that shortly after 7:30 a.m., she and her co-defendants, Jason Pleau and Jose Santiago, entered the gas station’s convenience store and purchased some items, at the same time identifying Mr. Main as the manager of the business and identifying his car which was parked outside the store.

Lajoie admitted to the court that after leaving the gas station, and after her failed protest to her co-defendants’ insistence that she participate in the robbery as a lookout, a robbery plan was formulated and the three did a dry run of the robbery and planned escape. Lajoie admitted that her role was to park across from the gas station and to alert Jason Pleau when Mr. Main left the gas station to travel to the bank to make the deposit. After the dry run, she drove Pleau to an area near the back of the bank and dropped him off. At the same time, Santiago waited in a nearby cul-de-sac in a white box van to be used by Pleau and Santiago to flee after the robbery. Lajoie was to reunite with Pleau and Santiago at an apartment in Providence after the robbery.

Lajoie told the court that after having gone into the gas station at 10:43 a.m. to use a bathroom, she returned to her car and waited for Mr. Main to leave the gas station to make the bank deposit. Lajoie admitted that at 11:08 a.m. she called Jason Pleau and reported that she was witnessing Mr. Main leaving the gas station and heading to the bank. She followed him the short distance to the bank and watched as he pulled into the parking lot. Lajoie then departed the area and headed to Providence. At 11:10 a.m., Pleau allegedly chased, shot and robbed Mr. Main of a deposit bag containing $12,542 in cash as he tried to enter the bank.

Lajoie admitted meeting up with her co-defendants later in the day where they spoke about the robbery and shooting, and split the proceeds of the robbery. Lajoie admitted that she and Santiago shared approximately $6,500.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adi Goldstein and William J. Ferland.

The matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Woonsocket Police and Rhode Island State Police, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Rhode Island National Guard.