kamaurisaeed kennedy case number: 1:13-mj-1256media.bizj.us/view/img/7915272/lenox.pdf · affidavit...

FILED i CHAiBERS

ORIGINAL U n i t e d States District Court

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

V . CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

KAMAURISAEED KENNEDY Case Number: 1:13-MJ-1256

I, the undersigned complainant being duly sworn, state the foUowing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. On or about June 21, 2013 in Fulton County, in the Northern District of Georgia, defendant(s) did, engage in a conspiracy with others known and unknown to violate the Hobbs Act

in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section(s) 1951.

I further state that I am a(n) Task Force Officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and that this complaint is based on the following facts:

PLEASE SEE ATTACHED AFFIDAVIT

Continued on the attached sheet and made a part hereof. Yes

Based upon this complaint, this Court finds that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant has committed it. Sworn to before me, and subscribed in my presence

Signature of Complainant . WILLIAM K. MURDOCK

August 30, 2013 Date

at Atlanta, Georgia City and State

Name and Title of Judicial Officer

AUSA John Ghose /

A L A N J. B A V E R M A N UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 1:13-cr-00305-TWT-LTW Document 1 Filed 08/30/13 of 14

AFFIDAVIT

WILLIAM K. M U R D O C K , being duly sworn, deposes and states the following:

1. I am a Task Force Officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and have

been since May of 2012. My parent agency is the Atlanta Police Department and I am a

detective with that agency. I have been employed by the Atlanta Police Department for

the past 18 years, l am currently assigned to the Atlanta Field Division of the FBI and am

a member of the Safe Streets Gang Task Force. I am currently assigned to investigate

Hobbs Act Violations, as well as other criminal matters.

2. This affidavit is submitted in support of a Criminal Complaint charging

KAMAURI S A E E D KENNEDY, a / k / a "Terry Howard," with engaging in a conspiracy to

violate the Hobbs Act in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951. This

affidavit is based upon my knowledge of the investigation and upon information that I

received from other law enforcement officers with the FBI and other law enforcement

agencies. Because this affidavit is offered only to support a Criminal Complaint, it does

not contain all of the information learned during the course of the investigation.


2. On June 21, 2013, at approximately 6:30 p.m., a "smash and grab" style

robbery occurred at the Mayor's jewelry store located inside of Lenox Square Mall, 3393

Peachtree Road, Suite 3090A, Atlanta, Georgia. The robbery was recorded by video

surveillance devices. Five subjects, all described as black males, entered the store and

proceeded to the cases where Rolex watches were displayed. Additional subjects remained

outside of the store, one of which appears to be talking on a cellular telephone in a store

surveillance video recording. Suspects inside the store pulled out sledge hammers which

had been concealed on their persons and began smashing the glass display cases. The

subjects then grabbed approximately 19 Rolex watches each valued between $16,900 and

$53 ,200 , The subjects ran to the parking garage where they entered a white minivan with

no license plate and fled the area.

3. This Mayors jewelry store is part of a multi-state retail chain operating in

interstate commerce. There were six employees and one customer inside the store at the

time of the robbery, at least one of whom fled into a back room while another ducked for

cover out of fear for their personal safety. The total loss sustained during the crime was


approximately $637,600. Following the robbery, the store was closed to customers while

police conducted an investigation.

4. Later, police officers discovered a white, 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan (ViN:

2C4RDGCG? 'D635855 ) abandoned nearby. Witnesses observed at least two black males

flee from the Dodge Grand Caravan and cut through nearby residential yards. The vehicle

did not have a license plate displayed but was found to be registered to PV Holding

Corporation, a car rental company. The vehicle had been rented out of an office in

Detroit, Michigan. The vehicle was found to have been rented by an individual in Detroit

and was later reported as stolen by Danielle Pittman, also from Detroit.

5. Near the vehicle, officers found a white fabric bundle that contained three of

the stolen watches. Police officers also recovered numerous items of clothing, sneakers

and ball caps from inside the vehicle, and discarded along the path taken by the fleeing

subjects. The recovered evidence included multiple items which appeared to match the

clothing worn by the robbers as seen on a video surveillance recording from the jewelry

store. Additionally the two sledge hammers used during the crime were recovered, one of


which was left inside the store. Also recovered from inside the getaway vehicle was a

Marriott Hotel room key card. Agents learned that the electronic data saved to the key

card was associated with the June 20, 2013, rental of room 26 at the Marriott Buckhead

Hotel and Conference Center, 3404 Lenox Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia, which is located

directly across the street from Lenox Square Mall. Further investigation revealed that the

room had been rented to a female from Michigan who paid for the room with cash.

However, the renter of the room never re-claimed the pre-paid cash security deposit

required for all cash room rentals. Investigators believe that the captioned "smash and

grab" robbery was perpetrated by individuals with ties to Detroit who travel the country

committing similar jewelry store robberies and "smash and grab" thefts.

6. During the course of investigation Kenneth Lee Thomas of Detroit, Michigan,

was developed as one suspect involved in the robbery conspiracy. Thomas is married to

Danielle Pittman, a / k / a "Danielle Thomas," who rented the getaway vehicle used during

the Mayor's jewelry store robbery in Atlanta. In addition, telephone number (313) 629-

2460 was determined to be a cellular telephone number utilized by Thomas.


7. On July 8, 2013, an order authorizing the installation of a pen register and

trap and trace device was issued through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of

Georgia for telephone number (313) 629-2450 and subsequently implemented by Sprint

Nextel. Upon review of the historical call detail records authorized by the Court's Order, it

was determined that Thomas' cell phone, (313) 629-2460 , and thus presumably Thomas,

was located in the vicinity of the June 21, 2013 Mayor's jewelry store robbery in Atlanta at

or around the time of the robbery. It also appeared, based on the historical records that

Thomas' cellular telephone, and presumably Thomas, traveled from Detroit, Michigan to

Atlanta, Georgia, shortly before the June 21, 2013 robbery in Atlanta, and returned to

Detroit shortly after that robbery.

8. Receipt of pen register data received on July 11, 2013, revealed that.calls

and text messages from/to Thomas' telephone were made utilizing a cell tower located in

Miami Beach, Florida, showing that Thomas was presumably in Florida.

9. Surveillance and investigation helped investigators determine that Thomas

was in Miami Beach with at least four other black males and two other black females.


Surveillance and investigation revealed a pattern of suspicious conduct that led

investigators to believe that Thomas and others were casing locations in southeast Florida

for a potential jewelry store robbery. A Chevrolet Impala bearing a Michigan license plate

and occupied by four individuals, including Thomas, arrived in the parking lot of the

Aventura Mall located at 19501 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura, Florida. Aventura Mall

contains a Mayor's Jewelry Store with a very large Rolex watch collection. Officers with

the Aventura Police Department attempted to question the four occupants from the vehicle

as they exited the car. Two of the occupants attempted to hide from police behind parked

cars. Thomas was among the occupants who exited the car. Thomas was subsequently

arrested by Aventura Police and charged with disordedy conduct, resisting arrest and

possession of a false identification card.

10. Following his arrest, Thomas was incarcerated at the Turner Guilford Knight

(TGK) Correctional Center, a Dade County Detention Center located in Miami, Florida.

Special Agent Paui Szabo with the Atlanta FBI subsequently traveled to Miami, Florida and

on July 16, 2013, interviewed Thomas. During the course of the interview Thomas


admitted tiiat lie Iiad facilitated the rental of the van utilized during the robbery of Mayor's

jewelry store in Atlanta through his wife Danielle Pittman a / k / a Danielle Thomas.

Thomas admitted being paid $3000 by one of the other co-conspirators for that service.

He also admitted that he facilitated his wife reporting the van stolen after it had been

found by police in Atlanta. This was done in an effort to thwart police attempts to identify

and apprehend the perpetrators of the crime. Thomas advised that fhe reason a van was

rented was the need to transport multiple perpetrators to and from the robbery which

Thomas knew was to occur outside of the State of Michigan.

11. Thomas claimed that he did not know the true identities of the all individuals

involved in perpetrating the robbery. The rented van was not supposed to be abandoned

after the robbery or found by police. The van was to serve as transportation back to

Detroit for multiple perpetrators. Since the van was. recovered by police, Thomas advised

that five of the perpetrators involved were thus stranded in Atlanta. The five stranded

perpetrators subsequently took a Greyhound bus from Atlanta, Georgia, to Detroit,

Michigan, the night of the robbery. Thomas told agents to check the Greyhound bus


manifest for tlie "midnighit" bus leaving Atlanta for Detroit as the names of five of the

subjects involved in the robbery would be listed on that bus manifest. Thomas also

admitted that while in Florida he was in fact planning to commit a "smash and grab"

robbery there.

12. On August 6, 2013, Thomas was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in the

Northern District of Georgia for engaging in a conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act in

violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951. The indictment is available at

docket no. 1:13-cr-00305-UNA.

13. Investigators obtained the bus manifest for the Greyhound bus scheduled to

depart Atlanta around midnight on the night of the robbery (June 21, 2013). The bus was

scheduled to depart Atlanta at 12:45 a.m. (June 22, 2013). Upon review of the manifest,

agents discovered a group of five individuals listed together on the manifest whose tickets

had been booked together on-line under one reservation by an individual listing a Detroit

address. All five travelers were listed on the manifest as traveling with no luggage with a

final destination of Detroit, Michigan, which would be consistent with individuals traveling


via bus unexpectedly. It should be noted that the bus makes numerous stops during its

route, therefore, not all passengers on the manifest have the same city as a final

destination. The name associated with the on-line reservation in question was "KAMAURI

KENNEDY. "

14. Greyhound Bus Line personnel advised that the person whose name was

listed on the reservation would need to be the individual to pick up the tickets for the

group and provide a confirmation code word. Agents obtained video surveillance footage

from the Atlanta Greyhound Terminal on June 21, 2013, and June 22, 2013. A group of

five individuals were seen together on video at the bus station. One individual in particular

was observed on video conducting a transaction at the ticket counter. Based on

comparison with a photograph of KAMAURI K E N N E D Y obtained through the Michigan

Department of Corrections, it is apparent from the video surveillance footage that

KAMAURI K E N N E D Y was at the bus station in Atlanta on June 21, 2013 and June 22,

2013, and was in fact the individual to conduct the transaction at the ticket counter, which


is consistent witii ttie need for "KAIVIAURI KENNEDY" to collect the bus tickets for the five

travelers listed on the reservation.

15. On or about August 19, 2013, an individual who wished to remain

anonymous called investigators and advised that K E N N E D Y had told him/her while in

Detroit that he (KENNEDY) had in fact been the driver of the rental van utilized during the

robbery in Atlanta. K E N N E D Y had also arranged for an individual residing in the Atlanta

area to pick up K E N N E D Y , and others involved in the robbery that were stranded in

Atlanta, and drive them to the Atlanta Greyhound bus station so they could get back to

Detroit. Agents were later able to identify the individual residing in the Atlanta area who

drove K E N N E D Y to the Greyhound bus station.

16. On August 23, 2013, investigators met with the individual who drove

K E N N E D Y to the Greyhound bus station. This individual admitted to agents that on June

21, 2013, he /she had been contacted by an individual from Detroit and asked if he /she

could provide a friend of h is/her 's who was stranded in Atlanta with a ride to the

Greyhound bus station. This individual agreed. This individual subsequently spoke via


telephone with the person "stranded" in Atlanta and was directed to the Marnott hotel

which was described as being located across the street from Lenox Square Mall. At the

described Marriott hotel this individual met the stranded person with whom he /she was

coordinating the ride to the Greyhound bus station, as well as three other stranded

persons. This individual provided the four stranded persons with a ride from the Marriott

hotel to the Greyhound Bus station in Atlanta around approximately 9:00 or 10:00 p.m.

]7. The individual who drove K E N N E D Y and the other stranded persons to the

Greyhound bus station recalled that the four stranded persons were traveling to Detroit and

that one of the stranded persons made a comment that they were going to be rich when

they got back to Detroit. This individual noted that when he dropped the four stranded

persons off near the bus station, they met up with a fifth person. This individual was

shown images from the bus station video surveillance and was able to confirm that the

four associated persons whom he had driven to the bus station, and the other person they

met there, were captured in the video images. Furthermore, this individual was able to


positively identify KAMAURI K E N N E D Y as the stranded person with whom he coordinated

the nde and transported from the Marriott hotel in Buckhead to the Greyhound bus station. .

18. On August 27, 2013, S A Paul Szabo traveled to Detroit, Michigan, and

interviewed K E N N E D Y who was incarcerated - due to a recent probation violation - at the

Michigan Department of Corrections' Detroit Reentry Center in Detroit, Michigan.

K E N N E D Y was advised that agents wished to speak with him regarding the June 21,

2013, robbery at Mayor's Jewelry Store in Atlanta and other similar jewelry store robberies

occurring around the country. K E N N E D Y acknowledged that he knew what agents were

talking about. K E N N E D Y advised that he originally met Kenneth Thomas through another

person and indicated that Thomas "started all of that" and recruited "all of them like in

Miami," refernng to his involvement in "smash and grab" jewelry store robberies.

K E N N E D Y indicated that Thomas had a "crew" and was "putting all that stuff together."

K E N N E D Y indicated he knew of the robbery in Atlanta and could help investigators but

expressed fear for the safety of his family if he provided information to law enforcement,

and then he ended the interview.


19. Based on the above information, I respectfully submit that there is probable

cause to believe that on or about June 21, 2013, KAMAURI S A E E D KENNEDY did

engage in a conspiracy with others known and unknown to violate the Hobbs Act, a

violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951. -

W H E R E F O R E , 1 respectfully request that a Criminal Complaint be issued.


kamaurisaeed kennedy case number: 1:13-mj-1256media.bizj.us/view/img/7915272/lenox.pdf · affidavit...

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