Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JALEN LASALLE, 20, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for committing a series of gunpoint robberies targeting individual sellers of luxury goods over online marketplaces.
According to court documents and statements made in court, ATF, the Hartford Police Department, and the Middletown Police Departments investigated a series of gunpoint robberies of individuals who advertised items for sale on internet marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp. At an arranged meeting place to sell their items, which included cell phones and luxury sneakers and accessories, the purported purchaser would brandish a firearm, force the victim to hand over the luxury goods, and flee. The investigation revealed that Lasalle and John Villegas, also known as “Kirby,” committed five armed robberies in Hartford in late August and early September 2022. Villegas, with his sister Valerie Meneses, also committed an armed robbery in August 2022 in Middletown.
Lasalle was arrested on February 3, 2023. On September 18, 2024, he pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery), and two counts of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Lasalle, who is released on a $50,000 bond, is required to report to prison on February 24.
Villegas and Meneses pleaded guilty to related charges. On January 8, 2025, Villegas was sentenced to 156 months of imprisonment and, on October 16, 2024, Meneses was sentenced to 63 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Hartford Police Department, and the Middletown Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and A. Reed Durham.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman encouraged those who sell and purchase items online, and need to meet an individual in person to complete the sale, to use a visible, monitored location. Contact your local police department to see if it offers a monitored meeting location, or search online for a nearby monitored location.