For Armed Robbery of Handbag Store in Soho Defendant Got 18 Months now US Wants 9 More

For Armed Robbery of Handbag Store in Soho Defendant Got 18 Months now US Wants 9 More by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, June 8 – Dashawn McNeill and Richard Forde were charged with the armed robbery of a luxury handbag store on West Broadway in Soho in lower Manhattan.  On September 6, 2023 he came to plead guilty before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge John G. Koeltl. Inner City Press was there, the only media in the courtroom.   Judge Koeltl asked McNeill his age and education. Nineteen, in the last year of high school. The complaint said he lives or lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, and used an iPhone registered to his grandfather.   Sentencing was set for December 14, 2023 at 11 am. But before then, lead defendant Richard Forde is to be sentenced, on November 6. On October 23, his lawyer wrote in to say that two years would be sufficient, citing his growing up in a homeless shelter left alone while his mother went out to work as a prostitute. A number of other SDNY Hobbs Act robbery cases are cited. On November 1, the US Attorney's Office wrote it seeking a longer sentence. While the plea deal was to 57 to 71 months, the range at the time of sentencing will be 46 to 57 months. The US says "a sentence within the range would be sufficient." On November 6, Judge Koeltl sentenced Forde to 30 months, and $24,760 in restitution. On November 30, McNeill's counsel wrote in and asked for no jail time: a non-custodial sentence of probation. On December 6 the US Attorney's Office asked for a sentence within the 24 to 30 month guideline. On December 14, Judge Koeltl sentenced McNeill to 18 months in prison. Jump cut to June 8, 2026 when the US Attorney's Office wrote in asking for nine more months on a firearms-related VOSR on June 10.  The case is USA v. Forde, et al., 1:22-cr-373 (Koeltl) *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222 NY NY 10013 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com