Additional Defendants Charged In Violent Rockland County Assault And Robbery; Two Sentenced

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the return of a superseding indictment charging WAYNE HICKS, a/k/a “Weez,” BRIAN THOMAS, a/k/a “BT,” and JORDAN WOODBINE, a/k/a “Jay Woods,” for their participation in a brutal beating and robbery of a victim in New City, New York in February 2021. THOMAS and WOODBINE were arrested yesterday and were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy. WAYNE HICKS had previously been arrested in the case, and will be arraigned on the superseding indictment before Judge Seibel at a later date.

DWAYNE HICKS and TNAIYA WILLIAMS, who both participated in the attack and robbery, were sentenced to 12 years and 44 months, respectively, for participating in a conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. United States District Judge Cathy Seibel sentenced DWAYNE HICKS on April 18, 2022, and sentenced WILLIAMS on June 24, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, this was a brazen and brutal robbery, as Judge Seibel recognized in imposing substantial prison sentences on Dwayne Hicks and Tniaya Williams. Our unsealing of charges against the other participants shows our Office’s continued commitment to identifying and prosecuting perpetrators of violent crime in this District. Thanks to the tenacious work of the FBI and the other agencies involved in the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, the participants in this attack are in custody and facing justice in federal court.”

At the sentencing hearing for DWAYNE HICKS, Judge Seibel remarked that the February 28, 2021 attack was “sickening,” “vicious,” “stomach turning, and the sort of thing that you really can’t imagine how any human being could partake in.”

As alleged in the Superseding Indictment unsealed in White Plains federal court, and various other indictments and complaints in the case[1]:

On February 28, 2021, after a marijuana dealer who worked for WAYNE HICKS, was robbed, WAYNE HICKS contacted his brother DWAYNE HICKS to arrange retribution. Thereafter, DWAYNE HICKS lured a victim, who the conspirators believed had participated in the earlier robbery, to a residence in New City, New York.  Once the victim arrived there, DWAYNE HICKS and multiple other assailants, including WILLIAMS, THOMAS, and WOODBINE, viciously attacked the victim. At times, WAYNE HICKS monitored the attack via a video-chat application. The assailants forced the victim to strip naked, stole his belongings, including a quantity of marijuana the assailants believed the victim had stolen, then beat the victim with a baseball bat, belts, and their hands and feet, and repeatedly slashed and stabbed the victim with a large knife.  The victim ultimately fled, after being left, naked and covered in blood, in a pile of snow.

DWAYNE HICKS, 28, of Spring Valley, New York and TNAIYA WILLIAMS, 27, of New City, New York each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. WAYNE HICKS, 32, of Hawthorne, New York, THOMAS, 20, of Haverstraw, New York, and WOODBINE, 22, of Chestnut Ridge, New York, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, one count of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of Travel Act Assault, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.

The statutory maximum and minimum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of special agents and task force officers from the FBI, U.S. Probation, New York State Police, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Putnam County Sheriff's Office, Westchester County DAs Office, Rockland County DAs Office, NYPD, Westchester County PD, and the Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Greenburgh, White Plains, Peekskill, Ramapo, and Clarkstown Police Department. He added that the investigation is ongoing.  

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the description of the Superseding Indictment and the other charging documents set forth in this release constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.