Bronx Man Sentenced To 24 Years In Prison For Violent Robbery

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced that WILFREDO SEPULVEDA, a/k/a “Dionico de la Cruz Rodriguez,” a/k/a “Tonito,” was sentenced yesterday in Manhattan federal court by United States Circuit Judge Richard J. Sullivan to 24 years in prison.  SEPULVEDA was convicted of narcotics and robbery charges after a five-day trial in March 2019. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “The defendant carried out a violent robbery to steal drugs and cash.  In doing so, he threatened the lives of multiple innocent victims.  I would like to extend my gratitude to the ATF and NYPD for their outstanding work in ensuring that the defendant faced the justice he deserved.”

ATF Special Agent-in-Charge John B. DeVito stated:  “The defendant committed various acts of violence where he brandished knives and firearms and terrorized others for narcotics and money.  These acts threatened the lives of both rival dealers and innocent citizens on the street.  The core of the ATF mission is to protect the public from violent crime.  To that end, we will work tirelessly with our partners to bring individuals bent on committing violent acts to justice.  I would like to thank the members of the ATF/ NYPD SPARTA Task Force for their diligent work on this case.  I would also like to extend my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting the case.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill stated:  “I want to commend our law enforcement partners for bringing justice in this violent case.  Working together, our quest to investigate and solve crime, and to keep New York and its residents safe, continues.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictments, evidence presented at trial, and other court documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court:

In the spring of 2018, SEPULVEDA spent months plotting to rob his source of narcotics.  On May 14, 2018, SEPULVEDA disguised himself in a wig and a dress, armed himself with a gun and a knife, and went to his drug dealer’s apartment to commit the robbery.  Inside the apartment, SEPULVEDA encountered the dealer’s 83-year-old mother-in-law, who, at the time, was home alone.  SEPULVEDA brandished the knife and firearm, threatened that elderly victim’s life, and then ransacked the apartment. After SEPULVEDA found approximately 1.5 kilograms of narcotics and $13,000 in cash, he fled the apartment and encountered a neighbor who attempted to intervene.  The neighbor chased SEPULVEDA onto the street where SEPULVEDA engaged in a struggle with the neighbor near a school.  During the struggle, SEPULVEDA brandished a firearm and threatened the neighbor’s life.  Shortly thereafter, police responded to the scene of the crime, placed SEPULVEDA under arrest, and recovered the firearm, narcotics, and cash, as well as the dress and wig SEPULVEDA had used as a disguise.

In addition to his prison term, SEPULVEDA, 41, of the Bronx, New York, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the NYPD and the ATF, and in particular the Strategic Patterned Armed Robbery Technical Apprehension (“SPARTA”) Task Force, which is composed of agents and officers of the ATF and the NYPD.