WORCESTER – A jury in Worcester federal court convicted a local man on Tuesday, June 7, for his role in an attempted robbery in Rockland.
The jury convicted Grace Katana, a/k/a “King Grace,” 31, of Worcester, of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, commonly referred to as Hobbs Act robbery. The judge scheduled sentencing for October 20.
Katana was indicted in July 2019 with co-defendants Junior Melendez, Shaun Walker and Keith Johnson. According to federal prosecutors, in March 2019, Katana conspired with Melendez, Walker and, allegedly, Johnson to rob a high-end glassware dealer in Rockland.
Intercepted communications revealed Katana and his co-conspirators planned the robbery over the course of six days. On March 25, 2019, the men traveled over 60 miles from Worcester to Rockland in two vehicles to scope out the robbery target location prior to purchasing a two-foot iron crowbar, screwdriver and razor blades from a nearby hardware store.
Agents actively monitoring the defendants subsequently converged and disrupted the attempted robbery. In addition to the items purchased in Rockland, a loaded .380 firearm was seized from one of the vehicles.
Melendez and Walker previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 28, 2022, and Oct. 13, 2022, respectively. Johnson has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
The charge of Hobbs Act conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
