Four Union County men were arraigned today for their roles in the armed robbery of QuickChek gas station, located at 370 North Ave East in Cranford.
Wiggins Cadet, 24, and Khalil Brown, 23, both of Roselle, New Jersey; and Zyquan McCray, 23, and Tyrone Crutchfield-Davis, 27, both of Linden, New Jersey, are each charged in a five-count superseding indictment returned Aug. 2, 2022, with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery.
Cadet, McCray, and Crutchfield-Davis are also charged with one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of conspiracy to brandish a firearm during a crime of violence.
Cadet is charged with one count of possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
The four defendants were arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court and all entered pleas of not guilty.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, a gas station in Cranford was robbed by two masked individuals, later identified as Cadet and McCray on Dec. 15, 2019.
Cadet brandished a firearm as he and McCray stole cash from two gas station attendants.
After fleeing the gas station, Cadet and McCray got into a getaway car driven by Brown.
The investigation revealed that Crutchfield-Davis, one of the gas station attendants, was involved in the robbery scheme.
The Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, and conspiracy to brandish a firearm during a crime of violence counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison.
The brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term.
The possession of a firearm by a convicted felon carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.