November 09, 2024
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Massachusetts trio now face federal charges after motel heist

BANGOR – Three Massachusetts men linked to an early morning robbery last fall at a Waterville motel were re-indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Bangor.

Marquis A. Craig, 20, and Dennis J. Mooney, 23, each face four counts in the criminal activity, and Manuel A. Roderick, 22, is charged with three counts. The criminal charges, if any, against two juveniles involved in the Nov. 27, 2000, robbery have not been made public.

The trio, all of New Bedford, Mass., first were indicted in December 2000, a few weeks after the dramatic robbery which netted them $200 before they sped down Interstate 95 toward Portland. The two juveniles were in the car at the time of the getaway. Four of the suspects were captured at gunpoint on the Maine Turnpike near Portland. Craig fled and remained at large for two days until he was forced by law enforcement officials off the roof of a Portland apartment building. After a struggle and demands that police shoot him, Craig was arrested and jailed.

The motel was the Budget Host Inn off Kennedy Memorial Drive, where employee Matthew Slicker was faced with “threatened force and violence and fear of injury” when the trio pointed a gun at him and demanded money, according to the indictment.

Craig, Roderick and Mooney, who has several aliases, each are charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery, use of a firearm in a crime of violence and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. In addition, Craig and Mooney each are charged with being felons in possession of a firearm.

They each face the possibility of decades in prison and close to $1 million in fines if convicted. They remain jailed.

The grand jury also indicted Robert S. Rodriguez, age and address unknown, with five counts: specifically, two counts of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, two counts of distribution of cocaine and one count of the manufacture of cocaine base. The indictment was a superseding indictment. Information on his detention status and the penalties he faces if convicted could not be obtained Tuesday.


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