A Newport News man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in a series of armed convenience store robberies.
“The defendant and others committed a series of terrifying armed robberies and stole from community members throughout the Hampton Roads region,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We will not tolerate the spreading of fear or violence in our neighborhoods, and our residents—including the hard-working entrepreneurs who run these businesses—deserve to feel safe at all times. This case serves as another example of our continued commitment to working closely with our federal, state, and local partners to combat violent crime and hold accountable those who commit such crimes.”
According to court documents, Daniel Zeigler-Irizarry Jr., 22, and other co-conspirators, committed a string of armed robberies throughout the Hampton Roads region in November and December 2019. Zeigler-Irizarry and others robbed six different stores at gunpoint in four different cities in Hampton Roads of U.S. currency and commercial products.
Zeigler-Irizarry and a co-conspirator stole vehicles belonging to others and used them to move between their targeted locations. During the final robbery, a tracker was concealed in one of the money packs stolen by Zeigler-Irizarry and a co-conspirator. The signal emitting from the tracking device allowed authorities to track their movements from the scene of the final robbery to a neighborhood in Newport News.
To avoid being arrested, Zeigler-Irizarry and a co-conspirator fled at high speeds in a stolen vehicle through a neighborhood until they crashed the vehicle and were ultimately apprehended. At that point, law enforcement recovered the tracker, a firearm, commercial products, and U.S. currency.
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