FBI: Hudson Valley Man Used ‘Sophisticated’ Scheme to Rob Drug Dealers in CT + NY
A Hudson Valley man is accused of using "sophisticated methods" to steal over a half-million dollars from New York drug dealers.
On Wednesday, the FBI announced the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging 31-year-old Patrick Chellel of Montogmery in an alleged conspiracy to commit multiple armed robberies of suspected drug dealers and drug runners in Orange County, New York, the Bronx, New York, and Hartford, Connecticut.
Chellel was allegedly the leader of a crew of six others.
“As alleged, Patrick Chellel organized and directed a violent conspiracy to rob suspected drug dealers and associates at gunpoint. Chellel and his robbery crew allegedly engaged in serious acts of violence and sophisticated methods to track their victims, including with a hidden Apple Watch on a victim’s car. Today’s arrest is part of our continued commitment with our law enforcement partners to root out gun violence in our communities," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
From at least in or around November 2019 and continuing through at least in or about January 2020, Chellel, 31-year-old Darren Lindsay, 30-year-old Antonie Koen, 31-year-old Robert Ojeda, 29-year-old Onitayo Are, 30-year-old Indigo Grant and 32-year-old Patricia Knock conspired to rob suspected drug dealers and associates of drugs and drug proceeds, as alleged in the indictment.
As part of the conspiracy, on or around November 14, 2019, Chellel organized a plan with Lindsay to rob suspected drug dealers at their residence in the vicinity of Mount Hope, New York, where the victims were assaulted at gunpoint, officials say.
On or around December 15, 2019, Lindsay, Koen and Ojeda robbed suspected drug dealers of marijuana at gunpoint at a home in the Bronx, according to the FBI.
On or around January 19, 2020, Lindsay, Koen and Ojeda, acting at Chellel direction, committed a violent gunpoint robbery of a drug runner in a hotel parking garage after secretly tracking the victim’s location with a hidden Apple Watch, resulting in approximately $500,000 in drug proceeds stolen, according to the FBI.
Each is charged with the following counts in the Superseding Indictment: