Chelsea Man Pleads Guilty to 11 Armed Robberies

 Defendant was on supervised release at the time of the robberies

BOSTON – A Chelsea man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to robbing 11 convenience and variety stores in 2017 and 2018. At the time of the offenses the defendant was on federal supervised release after having had his federal sentence reduced following a Supreme court decision. 

Rigoberto Ramirez, 47, pleaded guilty on Nov. 19, 2020 to 11 counts of armed robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and one count of using and carrying a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for March 22, 2021. Ramirez was arrested on March 28, 2019.

Between Dec. 9, 2017 and Jan. 24, 2018, a group of at least four individuals, including Ramirez, conspired to rob, and did rob, 10 convenience and variety stores in the greater Boston area, and attempted to rob another store. During a Jan. 8, 2018 robbery, a firearm was discharged.

Ramirez was sentenced to 12 years in prison following a conviction for distribution of cocaine base and conspiracy in in 2011, although that sentence was subsequently reduced to time served in 2016 based on a 2015 Supreme Court decision.

Each count of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence carries a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and up to life in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Malden Police Chief Kevin Molis; Peabody Police Chief Thomas M. Griffin; and Winthrop Police Chief Terence Delehanty made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine and Robert E. Richardson of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.