Robbers Stole Gold Rolex Watches Valued at More Than $700,000
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, Charlie Patterson, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”), and William
Bratton, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced
the arrest of CHRISTOPHER MULLIGAN on charges of robbery conspiracy, robbery,
and a firearms offense. MULLIGAN was
arrested yesterday in Stockton, California, and will be presented later today
in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
One other defendant, Omar Rawlins, was arrested on May 12,
2015, the day of the robbery, in connection with the same charges, contained in
a Complaint. Rawlins’s case was assigned
to the Honorable Kimba M. Wood, United States District Judge for the Southern
District of New York, and he pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to
rob the Tourneau Watch Store. Rawlins’s
sentencing remains pending.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “In broad
daylight in Midtown Manhattan, Mulligan and his co-conspirators allegedly
carried out a gunpoint robbery of a Madison Avenue watch store, stealing not
just Rolex watches worth more than $700,000, but robbing New York City
residents of their sense of security.
Thanks to good old-fashioned police work by the ATF and the NYPD,
Mulligan has joined his alleged co-conspirator Omar Rawlins in facing federal
criminal charges.”
ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Charlie Patterson said:
“This arrest is the culmination of the diligent investigative work of the ATF
Special Agents and NYPD Detectives assigned to the ATF SPARTA Task Force, which
investigates armed commercial robberies throughout New York City. The arrest of Mr. Mulligan should serve as a
warning to those out there engaged in these violent crimes that we will bring
the full force of the federal justice system to bear against you. While it may seem that you can receive a
quick payday by committing an armed robbery, the price you will pay is a
lengthy prison sentence in a federal penitentiary. ATF would like to extend our gratitude to the
NYPD and the United States Attorney’s Office for their continued partnership in
combatting violent crime in New York City.”
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “This violent
crime at a Midtown watch store took 60 seconds to commit, but after being
indicted and apprehended in California, the defendant’s time on the lam has run
out and he’s facing decades in prison if convicted. I want to thank the investigators from the
Southern District, the ATF and the NYPD who worked on this investigation and
tracked the defendant to Pennsylvania and then cross-country.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment
charging MULLIGAN, the Complaint[1] charging Rawlins, and other documents in
the public record, and statements made in court:
On May 12, 2015, MULLIGAN, Rawlins, and a third individual
committed a gunpoint robbery of the Tourneau Watch Store (“Tourneau”) in
Midtown Manhattan. At the time of the
robbery, all three men were dressed in suits and fedoras. After entering Tourneau, one of the men
produced a gun and fired a round into the floor. The bullet fragmented, and a customer was hit
with a bullet fragment, receiving a minor laceration. The two other robbers hit one of the glass
display cases with hammers. The display
case shattered, and the two robbers began removing watches from the display
case. A Tourneau employee stuck his head
out through a door behind the display case.
The robber with the gun fired a shot in the direction of the employee,
who was not hit. After approximately one
minute, all three robbers exited Tourneau and began running. They were pursued by NYPD officers, who
caught up to and arrested Rawlins. When
Rawlins was arrested, he was carrying, among other things, five watches, a
hammer, two pairs of gloves, a yellow hard hat, and a yellow safety vest. Surveillance footage captured some of MULLIGAN,
Rawlins, and the third robber’s activities as they executed the robbery. In total, the crew obtained approximately 20
Rolex watches, worth approximately $730,000.
* * *
MULLIGAN, 22, of Brooklyn, is charged with one count of
robbery conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one
count of robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and
one count of use of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of life in
prison. The maximum potential sentences
in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational
purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a
judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the ATF and
the NYPD, and in particular, the ATF Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery and
Technical Apprehensions (“SPARTA”) Task Force.
Mr. Bharara also thanked the United States Marshals Service and the
United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California for their
assistance in the arrest and apprehension of MULLIGAN.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and
Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United
States Attorneys Jessica Lonergan and Christopher J. Clore are in charge of the
prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely
accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty.
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