Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Multiple Business Robberies

Memphis, TN – A local man has pled guilty to six counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the guilty plea today.

On November 15, 2018, a federal grand jury returned a ten-count indictment against Brandon Albonetti, 23, for the robberies and attempted robberies of five CVS stores and one Burger King during the summer of 2018.

According to information presented in court, the robberies occurred in Memphis, between June 21, 2018 and August 14, 2018. In several of these robberies, Albonetti entered the respective stores armed with a pistol, taking cash and other items from the registers and safes. In two robberies, Albonetti displayed a knife as he demanded cash. The defendant robbed the CVS located at 786 North Germantown Parkway twice and the CVS at 5055 Stage Road three times during this time period.

On August 14, 2018, Memphis Police officers quickly responded and apprehended Albonetti as he tried to flee the scene of the CVS on Stage Road, which he had just robbed. The defendant used his vehicle to strike two patrol cars as authorities positioned their vehicles to keep the suspect from escaping.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "Business owners have a fundamental right to be safe from armed robbers who terrorize our communities with their lawlessness. The senselessness of gun violence has a long lasting effect on victims of armed robbery, and we will no longer allow gun crime to rule our streets. This case sends a clear message that there will always be a reckoning, a real and significant consequence, for the commission of violent crimes."

The defendant pled guilty on February 15, 2019, before the Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman. He is scheduled for sentencing on May 23, 2019. Albonetti faces up to 20 years imprisonment on each robbery count. He faces a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 7 years and to life imprisonment on each firearm count.

This case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force; Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryce Phillips is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf. SAUSA Phillips is currently assigned from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office for the purpose of prosecuting violent crimes and firearms offenses in federal court.