STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A young man from Brooklyn is headed to prison for an armed robbery carried out two years ago in a busy shopping plaza on Staten Island.
The defendant, Shawn Francis, now 21, pleaded guilty Oct. 18 in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree robbery in connection with the October 2021 incident.
In exchange for his role in the incident, Francis is scheduled to be sentenced to four years in prison followed by five years of post release supervision.
Authorities said the incident unfolded around 7:20 p.m. on a Thursday at a Boost Mobile store in a strip mall on the 900 block of Richmond Avenue in Graniteville.
The group, which included males and females, at first were conversing with a 19-year-old woman working at the location, before following the employee to a back room.
Francis allegedly threatened her with a knife and attempted to open a safe, but when that didn’t work the group turned their attention back to the employee.
Authorities said the victim was assaulted and robbed of personal property.
Officers performing a canvass of the area moments later spotted a Mercedes-Benz occupied by four individuals on Forest Avenue, leading to multiple arrests in the case.
Francis and a 19-year-old female also from Brooklyn were charged as adults, while a 15-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy were charged as minors.
The status of the 19-year-old female defendant’s case wasn’t clear this week in court documents.
Francis is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 9 before Justice Mario Mattei.
Defense attorney Mark Fonte, who represented Francis in the case, said the following after the hearing last week:
“I believe this was a just resolution to this matter and I am happy this brings closure to all parties. I also commend [Assistant District Attorney] Antonia Assenso who prepared an air tight prosecution which resulted in this guilty plea.”
District Attorney Michael E. McMahon commended the work of the NYPD and assistant district attorneys in securing the…
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