TUCSON, Ariz. - Yesterday, Mitchell Ray Finley, 50, of Fresno, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Raner C. Collins to 70 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Finley had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act Robbery.
On May 28, 2016, Finley and three other persons entered a Tiffany & Co. jewelry store in Tucson, Ariz., and stole a diamond solitaire ring and assaulted a security guard before getting away. Later that day, Finley and the three men entered the Nordstrom department store in Scottsdale, Ariz., and stole several designer handbags after verbally threatening a store manager. On the same day, Finley and the three men entered a Helzberg Diamond Outlet store in Glendale, Ariz., and stole several high-end watches after pepper-spraying the store employees. The watches were pawned by Finley’s co-defendant, Dwight Bivens, who previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment. The victims’ financial losses totaled more than $130,000.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, the Scottsdale Police Department, the Glendale Police Department, and the Fresno Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Lauren G. LaBuff, Fred A. Cocio, and Rui Wang, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.
CASE NUMBER: CR 17-01145-TUC-RCC (DTF)
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-101_ Finley
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
