A New Jersey man admitted to carrying out four robberies and shooting two people on the same night in Jersey City, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
Rodney Williams, 32, is accused of robbing two stores, one gas station and one restaurant — all in just over one hour — on the evening of Nov. 14, 2021.
Williams and a co-conspirator, a Newark woman who was 19 at the time of the robberies, were arrested later that night after striking a police car while trying to flee law enforcement, prosecutors said.
The 70 minutes of mayhem began when Williams, acting alone, walked into a Jersey City store just after 8 p.m. Investigators said he pointed a gun at a clerk demanding money and threatening to kill the victim. He then fled on foot with the money.
About 35 minutes later, Williams and his co-conspirator, Siobhan Chandler, walked into a gas station, demanded money and shot one employee in the chest.
The duo then robbed another store some 15 minutes later before finishing their robbery spree in a nearby restaurant, when Williams shot a clerk in the chest then “forcibly entered the restaurant’s kitchen and demanded money from the employees.”
The pair was arrested by Jersey City police around 9:20 p.m. that night — about 70 minutes after the first incident — and charged with multiple robberies and related charges.
They were indicted by a grand jury in early 2023. Chandler pleaded guilty in December 2023 and was sentenced in May 2024 to 12 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Williams also admitted to his role in the four robberies and shootings, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced Monday. He could be sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay up to $250,000 for each count.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced on April 23, 2025.
