New Jersey Man Sentenced to 141 Months in Prison for Armed Robbery of Barbershop
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden man was sentenced today to 141 months in prison for robbing a Camden barbershop at gunpoint, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
Benjamin Daye, 34, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to an information charging him with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Judge Kugler imposed the sentence by videoconference today.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Nov. 23, 2019, Daye entered a barbershop in Camden armed with a loaded handgun. He grabbed a juvenile customer, pointed the gun at the customer’s head, and demanded cash and belongings from employees and customers. Daye fled and was apprehended shortly thereafter next to a bag containing the handgun and the stolen items.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Kugler sentenced Daye to three years of supervised release and ordered Daye to pay restitution in the amount of $1,672 to the victims of his offenses.
This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensured that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian
Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai; the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gabriel Rodriguez; and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. This investigation was a joint efforts of the ATF Camden Field Office and the Camden County Police Department (CCPD) Shooting Response Team (SRT). ATF and CCPD have formulated a partnership composed of special agents, detectives, and intelligence analysts that investigate shooting incidents in real time.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.
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