3 Peoria men convicted of robbing informant at gunpoint

PEORIA (25News Now) – Three Peoria men were convicted of stealing $1,200 from a confidential informant at gunpoint during a federal firearms investigation last May.

According to the Department of Justice, the following people have pleaded guilty to stealing United States currency:

• Hunter Coombs, 24, of the 1600 block of North Delaware Street in Peoria, pleaded guilty in October 2023 and was sentenced June 3 to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
• Germaine R. Hill, Jr., 26, of the 2700 block of West Rohmann Avenue, West Peoria, pleaded guilty in November 2023 and was sentenced June 5 to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

The DOJ also says Rashon J. Miller, 25, of the 500 block of Vine Street, Peoria, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to using a firearm during and in connection with a crime of violence as well as a theft of United States currency. Miller was sentenced June 5 to a total of 84 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.

The DOJ says that during sentencing hearings, the government established that Hill, Miller and Coombs acted together to rob a government informant at gunpoint.

Hill allegedly told the victim he had for sale a handgun equipped with an automatic trigger, allowing it to fire like a fully automatic machine gun. Coombs led Hill and Miller to meet with the buyer. Instead of selling a machine gun, Miller pointed a loaded gun at the victim and took the $1,200 purchase money.

After the robbery, members of the Peoria Area Federal Firearms Task Force apprehended the three men, recovered the stolen cash and recovered two loaded semi-automatic firearms from the passenger compartment of the man's car. leak, according to the DOJ.

The three men admitted to discussing and planning the robbery before meeting the informant.

A complaint was filed in federal court in early June 2023 against the three defendants, followed by an indictment a few weeks later in June 2023. All defendants have been in the custody of the US Marshals Service since May 2023.

You can watch 25News – any newscast, anywhere – streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can tune into live news from 25News. here.

Copyright 2024 WEEK. All rights reserved.