A Connecticut man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for robbing people who advertised items for sale on internet marketplaces, according to federal authorities. Jalen Lasalle, 20, of Hartford, was sentenced by U.S.
District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to a total of 120 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for committing a series of gunpoint robberies targeting “individual sellers of luxury goods over online marketplaces,” according to federal authorities. Citing court documents and statements made in court, federal authorities said the ATF, Hartford Police Department , and Middletown Police Department “investigated a series of gunpoint robberies of individuals who advertised items for sale on internet marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp.
” “At an arranged meeting place to sell their items, which included cell phones and luxury sneakers and accessories, the purported purchaser would brandish a firearm, force the victim to hand over the luxury goods, and flee,” federal authorities said. The investigation revealed that Lasalle and John Villegas, also known as “Kirby,” committed five armed robberies in Hartford in late August and early September 2022, federal authorities said. Villegas, with his sister, Valerie Meneses, also committed an armed robbery in August 2022 in Middletown, federal authorities said .
Lasalle was arrested in February, 2023 and in September 2024 pleaded guilty to two counts .
