Two sentenced for roles in AT&T robberies throughout CT and western MA

BRIDGEPORT, CT (WFSB) - Two people were sentenced for their roles in what investigators described as a spree of violent AT&T store robberies across Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

Shaquille Raymond, 25, of Hartford, and 25-year-old Saviana Borne of Middletown were sentenced to 72 months and 78 months of imprisonment, respectively.

Raymond will also get five years of supervised release while Borne was given three years of supervised release.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced the sentences on Thursday.

Raymond and Borne were sentenced in Bridgeport on Wednesday.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2021, Raymond, Alex Josephs, Ronaldo Smith and Deshawn Baugh committed several violent armed robberies of AT&T stores. Investigators said they typically entered the stores shortly before closing, pointed weapons at employees, and, at times, pistol-whipped, dragged, and shoved employees toward the back inventory room. They then held the employees at gunpoint while loading large bags with cell phones and other electronics. The group stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise.

Bourne, who worked at AT&T stores, helped plan the robberies, served as a getaway driver, and coordinated the sale of the stolen merchandise, the documents said.

The investigation revealed that Raymond, Josephs, and Smith robbed AT&T stores in Newington on Jan. 29, 2021, and Enfield on Feb. 24, 2021. Baugh then joined the spree and together they robbed an AT&T store in Canton on April 15, 2021. They tried to rob stores in Torrington and Glastonbury in May 2021, but were locked out of the stores.

On June 6, 2021, investigators said Raymond and his associates, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, two revolvers, and a semiautomatic rifle, robbed an AT&T store in West Springfield, MA. After the robbery, they fled in a vehicle driven by Bourne, who led police on a high-speed chase that ended when their vehicle collided with a Massachusetts State Police cruiser. Raymond, Josephs, Smith, Baugh, and Bourne were arrested, and a search of the vehicle revealed more than $150,000 in stolen merchandise, as well as the firearms used during the robbery.

The judge ordered Raymond and Bourne to pay restitution of more than $298,073, which reflected the losses from the Newington, Enfield, and Canton robberies. The property stolen in the West Springfield robbery was recovered.

Raymond and Bourne remain detained since their arrests. On Oct. 28, 2022, Avery said Raymond pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. On Nov. 30, 2021, she said Bourne pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, four counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and two counts of attempted Hobbs Act robbery.

Josephs, Smith, and Baugh also pleaded guilty. On March 1, 2023, Baugh was sentenced to 108 months of imprisonment and was ordered to pay restitution of more than $124,842, which reflected the loss from the Canton robbery.

Josephs and Smith await sentencing.