Man with Lengthy Criminal Record Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison for March 2023 Armed Robbery

BOSTON - A Cambridge man as sentenced on Nov. 14, 2024 in federal court in Boston for the March 20, 2023, armed robbery of the JP Wireless store in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Royal Benjamin, 64, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In August 2024, Benjamin pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. In September 2023, Benjamin was charged by criminal complaint.

On March 20, 2023, Benjamin robbed an individual in the Downtown Crossing subway station of a bag containing two pairs of Puma sneakers. Benjamin then traveled to JP Wireless in Jamaica Plain and offered to sell the sneakers to a store employee. When the store employee stated he did not want to buy the sneakers, Benjamin removed a handgun from his waistband and rushed behind the counter pointing the handgun at the store employee. Once behind the counter, Benjamin took $594.00 in cash that was sitting on top of the register. Benjamin then removed the drawer, dropping it and its contents on the ground. Benjamin's fingerprints were later located on the cash register drawer. Benjamin then fled the store, threatening to shoot the store employee. During a search of Benjamin's bedroom at a house in Cambridge, a loaded handgun was recovered.

According to court records, Benjamin has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1978, when he was 18years-old. His criminal record includes the following convictions and sentences: a 1978 conviction in Alabama for Strong Armed Robbery, for which he was sentenced to 10 years (Benjamin escaped from prison); a 1985 conviction in the Roxbury District Court for Assault Dangerous Weapon, for which he received a sentence of "Filed;" a 1985 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Armed Robbery, for which he was sentenced to four to six years; a 1984 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Manslaughter and Armed Robbery, for which he received a sentence of 18 to 20 years; 1994 convictions in the Suffolk Superior Court for Robbery and Possession of a Class B controlled Substance, for which he received a sentence of four to six years; a 2001 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Armed Robbery, for which he was sentenced to seven to nine years; a 2010 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Robbery, for which he was sentenced to 10 to 12 years; and a 2024 conviction in the Boston Municipal Court for Larceny from a Person, for which he received a sentence of 90 days.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Police Department; the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office; and the Boston and Cambridge Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan C. Cleary and David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.