2003-08-11 -- Williams, Sebastian -- Sentencing -- News Release

Aspiring Brooklyn Songwriter Sentenced to 224 Months for Jersey City Armored Car Heists

TRENTON - An aspiring songwriter from Brooklyn, N.Y. was sentenced today to 224 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to rob two armored trucks in Jersey City, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr. also ordered Sebastian "Bazz" Williams, 35, to pay approximately $650,000 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence.

On March 24, 2003, Williams was convicted at trial of conspiring with three other men to rob armored trucks operated by Coin Depot Corporation (CDC) of Elizabeth. The jury verdict came after an eight-day trial before Judge Brown in Trenton.

The jury found Williams guilty of conspiracy for participating a robbery of an truck parked outside Home Depot on Route 440 in Jersey City, during which cash and checks totaling approximately $653,000 were stolen. Williams was found guilty of a second count of conspiracy for participating in a bungled Aug. 29, 2002, attempted robbery of a CDC armored truck parked at the Newport Mall in Jersey City, during which two of the robbers were shot. The jury also found Williams guilty of carrying a firearm during the armored truck robbery outside Home Depot.

The jury found that Williams conspired with three other men - Dwayne Jones, 35, of Jersey City, Louis Hyman, 42, of Queens, N.Y., and Kevin Henry, 49, of Brooklyn - to rob the CDC armored trucks. The Newport Mall robbery was foiled when a CDC armed guard shot and wounded Henry. Jones and Henry were arrested almost immediately after the shooting, while Hyman and Williams fled, who were subsequently apprehended.

Jones, Henry and Hyman all pleaded guilty to their roles in the crimes and were sentenced by Judge Brown earlier this year - Jones to 78 months in prison, Henry to 63 months in prison, and Hyman to 176 months, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli J. Richardson, who tried the Williams case and prosecuted the co-defendants.

Christie credited Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Louie F. Allen, with developing the case against Williams.

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Defense Attorney: R. Louis Gallagher, II, Esq.