Minneapolis cell phone theft ring: Man to be sentenced Friday - FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A 23-year-old man volition beryllium sentenced connected Tuesday day successful transportation to a compartment telephone theft ring successful Minneapolis. He was the archetypal to plead blameworthy successful the racketeering case. 

Alfonze Stuckey pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of racketeering connected Dec. 1. He volition beryllium sentenced astatine 1 p.m. connected Tuesday. 

The Hennepin County Attorney’s bureau is utilizing a unsocial strategy successful authorities transgression court, having charged a twelve suspects with racketeering for orchestrating a blase and sometimes convulsive scheme. Authorities person alleged this was a coordinated, brazen, transgression endeavor victimizing much than 40 radical mostly successful and astir the city’s fashionable barroom districts implicit the past year-plus.

A twelve suspects were initially charged with moving unneurotic to snatch compartment phones, stealing tens of thousands of dollars done the victim’s online fiscal apps, and yet selling the costly devices connected the achromatic market.

As portion of the plea deal, Stuckey agreed to a astir five-year situation term, officially 57 months. In exchange, the authorities signed disconnected connected not adding immoderate further charges against him beyond what is already laid retired successful the racketeering complaint. In a mates of incidents, it is alleged Stuckey physically assaulted victims by punching them to bargain their compartment phones.

Additionally, Stuckey volition not person to attest against immoderate of his codefendants successful the conspiracy successful unfastened court, which is often what prosecutors are looking for arsenic they effort to clasp each the players successful a transgression conspiracy accountable, according to Hamline Mitchell Emeritus Law Professor Joseph Daly.

"Just due to the fact that you're not going to usage them astatine a proceedings doesn't mean they won't usage the accusation that they tin get from them to bring successful the different racketeers," explained Daly, who is not straight progressive successful the case. "So that's a beauteous important plea bargain to not person to attest against the different people. It's always, ever a terrifying world if you're going to crook state's grounds against higher-level racketeers. I mean, it's dangerous."

The statutory maximum punishment for racketeering successful Minnesota is 20 years successful prison.

This is simply a processing story.