Man convicted in UPS truck robbery
EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal jury today found a man guilty of robbing a UPS truck at gunpoint.
The verdict against Anthony T. Moore came in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois, following a three-day jury trial.
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, said Moore, 22, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 at 9 a.m. in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis. Moore faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years.
According to evidence presented at trial, Moore hijacked a UPS truck in East St. Louis at gunpoint and forced the driver to move the truck to a deserted dead-end street in nearby Washington Park. Moore and two accomplices then stole the packages inside the truck.
The incidents occurred on Dec. 17, 2012.
At trial, the UPS driver testified that “I thought it was the last day of my life, and that I would never see my kids again. I just asked the Lord to receive my soul. I was that sure he was going to kill me.”
After the robbery, Moore shot a 15-year-old acquaintance in the back of the head, because Moore believed the juvenile could implicate him in the UPS truck robbery, Wigginton said. Moore was convicted last year in St. Clair County Circuit Court for that shooting, and he was subsequently sentenced to 34 years in state prison for attempted murder.
The armed robbery count is a federal “Hobbs Act Robbery.” The Hobbs Act makes it a crime to obstruct, delay, or affect interstate commerce by robbery, and is used by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a way to combat armed robbery.
“This conviction is just the latest in a series of federal prosecutions I have initiated, as part of our efforts to send a clear message to these extraordinarily dangerous gunmen who commit armed robberies, that they will face harsh federal penalties for their crimes.” said Wigginton.
The investigation that resulted in Moore’s arrest and conviction was conducted by the FBI and the Illinois State Police.
The case was tried by Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Clark and Robert Garrison.
