11/06/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/06/2024 09:32
Orlando, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Dany Telfort (20, Orlando) has pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Telfort faces a minimum penalty of 14 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is set for February 13, 2025.
According to the plea agreement, between March 23 and April 1, 2023, Telfort and co-defendant Nijah Jahni Mitchell participated in a string of nine armed robberies of various convenience stores throughout Central Florida. During some of the robberies, Telfort entered the store, pointed a firearm at the store clerks, and demanded the money from the cash registers. During others, Telfort acted as the getaway driver while Mitchell allegedly robbed the store. As part of the plea agreement, Telfort has agreed to forfeit the firearm and ammunition used in the commission of the offenses.
Mitchell is currently pending trial. An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the Clermont Police Department, the Ocoee Police Department, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, and the Oakland Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan Testerman.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.