New Haven Man Sentenced for Armed Robbery, Carjacking

BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut – Robert Smith, also known as “Robbie,” a 20-year-old from New Haven, was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison for his involvement in the armed robbery of a North Haven gas station and subsequent carjacking in 2022. U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley also ordered three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Court documents reveal that Smith played a significant role in a crime spree orchestrated by Christian Borrero, which included several gunpoint robberies and a carjacking in late June and early July 2022. Specifically, July 6 2022, Smith participated in the armed robbery of a Shell gas station at 195 State Street in North Haven. After the robbery, he drove Borrero and a young accomplice to Meriden, where they carjacked a woman in her driveway.

Smith has been in custody since January 3, 2023, and pleaded guilty on September 28, 2023, to aiding and abetting a Hobbs Act robbery and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in a violent crime.

His co-defendant, Borrero, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on April 1, 2024, after also pleading guilty to related charges.

The extensive investigation that led to these convictions was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the cooperation of several local police departments, including New Haven, East Haven, West Haven, Ansonia and North Haven. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel J. Gentile and Sean P. Mahard prosecuted the case.

U.S. Attorney Avery expressed his gratitude to the prosecutors in the New Haven and Ansonia/Milford judicial districts for their collaborative efforts in this case, which is part of the broader Safe Neighborhoods initiative to reduce violent crime.