BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont man was sentenced to 15 years in a federal prison in the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday for his role in multiple armed robberies at convenience stores.
Prosecutors said during a two-week span, from Jan. 1, 2021, through Jan. 21, 2021, Moses Ray Rhine Jr. and others conspired to commit armed robberies of at least five convenience stores in Southeast Texas.
Rhine, 21, pleaded guilty on Aug. 11, 2021, to Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The stores involved in the robberies were all engaged in interstate commerce.
Federal investigators said each store had surveillance cameras that recorded the robberies. Beaumont detectives and federal agents interviewed Rhine, and he confessed to his role in the robberies.
A federal grand jury indicted Rhine on June 2, 2021. After his guilty plea, he faced up to life in federal prison.
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