5 Middletown Ohio Residents Indicted for Million-Dollar Jewelry Robbery

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged five Middletown residents with the strong-armed robbery of a diamond/jewelry merchant in Monroeville, Pa. on April 2, 2016.

Amit Patel (also known as Alex Patel), 48, Mimi Chang, 40, Andrea Mullins, 35, Deanna Williams (also known as Dee Dee Williams), 36, and Danny Ray Horne, 37, were each charged in the indictment. Three defendants appeared in federal court this afternoon for initial appearances and two defendants are currently in state custody.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the indictment returned September 6.

The indictment charges the defendants with one count of conspiring, beginning on or about March 30, to commit a Hobbs Act robbery. The Hobbs Act is a federal law prohibiting interference with interstate commerce and violating the law is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The FBI began the investigation after the victim filed a police report with the Monroeville Police Department following the robbery.

“The government is seeking forfeiture in this case of more than $1 million, which represents the total amount of proceeds the defendants obtained as a result of the offense,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation by the FBI in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh and the Monroeville Police Department, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Oakley, who is prosecuting the case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.