Crime & Safety
Newark Man Pleads Guilty to String of Armed Robberies
Dawson faces up to life in prison when he's sentenced next year
A Newark man Thursday admitted he took part in more than a dozen armed robberies at pharmacies, sandwich shops and other small businesses throughout North Jersey, US Attorney Paul Fishman said.
Bobby Dawson, 30, also pleaded guilty to committing an armed carjacking during a six-month crime spree that began in late 2012.
Dawson faces up to life in prison and hundreds of thousands in dollars in fines when he’s sentenced in March 2014.
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In many of the robberies, employees were restrained with zip ties or duct tape at gunpoint before Dawson and an accomplice cleaned out the cash register.
In a few cases, Fishman said, the violence escalated. On April 1, Dawson forced a clerk to hit the ground by firing a .380-caliber handgun during the robbery of the MS&K Confectionary in Maplewood. On April 24, Dawson pistol-whipped the employee of a Krauszer’s store in West Orange.
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Dawson also struck half a dozen times in Newark -- including twice at Newark Community Pharmacy -- as well as in Linden and Kearny.
He also robbed Shopper’s Express and Belleville News and Food, both in Belleville; twice at Krauszers in Bloomfield; a Smashburger location in Paramus; and a Subway restaurant in Verona.Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
