From staff reports

 

BEAUMONT, Texas – A 20-year-old Port Arthur, Texas man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown on Thursday, May 2.             

Jamon Roshaud Brooks was named in a two-count indictment charging him with Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.  The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on May 1, 2019.

The indictment alleges that on Dec. 21, 2018, Brooks brandished a firearm while robbing a business located at 2150 Stillwater Drive in Beaumont, Texas, which engaged in, and affected interstate commerce in violation of the Hobbs Act.   

The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce “in any way or degree.” Section 1951 also proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without reference to the conspiracy statute at 18 U.S.C. § 371. The statutory prohibition of “physical violence to any person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to do anything in violation of this section” is confined to violence for the purpose of committing robbery or extortion. United States v. Franks, 511 F.2d 25, 31 (6th Cir. 1975) (rejecting the view that the statute proscribes all physical violence obstructing, delaying, or affecting commerce as contrasted with violence designed to culminate in robbery or extortion), according to the United State Department of Justice.

Although the Hobbs Act was enacted in 1946 to combat racketeering in labor-management disputes, the extortion statute is frequently used in connection with cases involving public corruption, commercial disputes, and corruption directed at members of labor unions. Proof of “racketeering” as an element of Hobbs Act offenses is not required. United States v. Culbert, 435 U.S. 371, 98 S.Ct. 1112 (1978). However, a violation of the Hobbs Act may be part of a “pattern of racketeering activity” for purposes of prosecution under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute (18 U.S.C. §  1961, et seq.).

If convicted, Brooks faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the robbery and seven years consecutive for brandishing a firearm.

This case is being investigated by the Beaumont Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Port Arthur Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell James.

It is important to note that a complaint, arrest, or indictment should not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.