Three men have been charged in connection with a $1.2 million robbery involving a truck carrying Apple products outside a New York shopping center, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment.
The alleged robbery took place on January 3 outside the Apple Store at Americana Manhasset on Long Island, where workers were preparing to unload a shipment containing products including iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Apple Watches and accessories.
Prosecutors allege that three armed men approached the delivery vehicle at around 8 a.m. and forced one employee into the cargo area before restraining him with zip ties. A second worker was allegedly ordered at gunpoint to drive the truck to another location nearby.
Once there, authorities say the second employee was also forced into the rear of the vehicle and restrained. The suspects are then accused of transferring the Apple shipment into a rented Home Depot box truck before shutting both workers inside the original delivery vehicle and leaving the scene.
One of the workers was eventually able to free himself and contact emergency services, according to the federal case.
Investigators later tracked the stolen products into New Jersey, where surveillance footage allegedly showed some of the defendants unloading electronics at a self-storage facility in Paterson. The rented truck was later recovered in the Bronx, where authorities say fingerprint evidence helped connect one of the suspects to the vehicle.
The three defendants have been named as Alan Christhofer Cedeno-Ferrer, 27, Michael Mejia-Nunez, 29, and Ennait Alexis Sirett-Padilla, 24. They face federal charges including Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and interstate transportation of stolen property.
If convicted, the men could face up to 30 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. described the alleged incident as a violent daytime robbery that placed both the delivery workers and members of the public at risk. FBI officials also accused the suspects of holding two employees at gunpoint during the theft.
The case highlights the enormous value of individual Apple shipments, with high-end iPhones, Macs and other devices routinely transported in bulk to retail locations. The Apple Post has previously reported on a number of thefts targeting Apple Stores, shipments and customers because of the high resale value of the company’s products.
The allegations were first detailed by Los Angeles Magazine, citing the federal indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York.