NEWARK, N.J. – Six people have been charged for their roles in smash-and-grab robberies targeting jewelry stores across New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Since early 2025, numerous jewelry stores have been victimized by smash-and-grab robberies in New Jersey and Staten Island, New York, each committed by groups of individuals employing similar tactics. While the victim jewelry stores were open for business, masked and gloved perpetrators used crow bars and/or sledgehammers to smash the glass doors and front windows of the store. Once inside, the perpetrators smashed glass display cases, stealing whatever jewelry was inside. “As alleged, these defendants committed brazen, day-time robberies of jewelry stores by smashing through glass, creating chaos, instilling fear in employees and customers, and making off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry, but in the end, thanks to the work of federal law enforcement and our state and local partners, these defendants now face serious federal charges. These arrests serve as a reminder that if you commit violent crimes in New Jersey, law enforcement will use every tool to find you and make sure that you face justice.”- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer“Customers at these jewelry stores found themselves caught in the middle of violent robberies carried out by masked men who showed little regard for anyone who might get hurt,” said FBI Newark, Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Roddy. FBI Newark partnered with state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and track down these subjects so no one else would be put in danger. The work being done to protect the people of New Jersey has been incredible, and this case is just one stellar example.”

Shaquan Jones, 24, of Newark, and Kayron Caldwell, 34, of Newark, were each separately charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery for robbing a jewelry store in Paterson, New Jersey on May 14, 2025. Caldwell was indicted on August 5, 2026. He appeared before the Honorable Susan D. Wigenton on August 13, 2026, entered a plea of not guilty, and was ordered detained. Jones was charged by complaint and appeared before the Honorable José R. Almonte, United States Magistrate Judge, on July 29, 2026; he was ordered detained. Wyzier Peterson, 28, of Paterson, New Jersey; Corey Boyd, 29, of Paterson, New Jersey; and Terrance Drakeford, 33, of Paterson, New Jersey, were each charged by complaint with one count of Hobbs Act robbery for robbing a jewelry store in Wayne, New Jersey on June 16, 2026. All three defendants appeared before the Honorable José R. Almonte, United States Magistrate Judge, on September 10, 2026, and were ordered detained. Derreck Proctor, 33, of Newark, New Jersey was charged by complaint with one count of Hobbs Act robbery for robbing a jewelry store in Union City, New Jersey, on March 7, 2026. Proctor appeared before the Honorable André M. Espinosa, United States Magistrate Judge, on September 23, 2026, and was released on bail. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:The perpetrators of the May 2025 robbery in Paterson smashed through the glass door and front windows of the jewelry store in the middle of the day using crow bars. Two perpetrators cut themselves on broken glass, leaving behind blood. Investigators tested the blood on the scene and found that it contained Jones’s DNA and Caldwell’s DNA. In the days following the robbery, Jones took pictures of himself holding a wad of cash with a bandage on his left hand, which investigators recovered from Jones’s online cloud storage account. Following the robbery, Caldwell ran internet searches for butterfly bandages and wound treatment. Investigators apprehended Proctor for his role in the March 2026 Union City robbery based on blood evidence as well. During that robbery, perpetrators carrying 10-pound brand-name sledgehammers smashed display cases inside the store and took jewelry from inside the cases. When examining the crime scene, law enforcement found blood left behind by a perpetrator who had likely cut their hand on broken glass. DNA analysis confirmed that the blood matched Proctor. Security camera footage from a hardware store showed that Proctor purchased two 10-pound, brand-name sledgehammers with cash several weeks before the robbery. The perpetrators of the June 2026 Wayne robbery also smashed through the jewelry store’s glass front door using sledgehammers before smashing the display cases and fleeing in an SUV. Video surveillance captured the perpetrators changing to a second vehicle several blocks from the robbery. Boyd drove the second getaway car, in which Peterson and Drakeford were both passengers. When Haledon Police attempted to stop the second getaway car for a traffic infraction a few minutes later, the car fled and crashed one block away. Law enforcement apprehended Drakeford at the scene of the crash, but the other occupants fled on foot. Boyd and Peterson were later identified and apprehended. Each defendant faces up to 20 years imprisonment for Hobbs Act robbery, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Newark Field Division, under the direction of Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation. He also thanked the New Jersey State Police Auto Theft Task Force, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Union City Police Department, the Wayne Police Department, the Jersey City Police Department, the Perth Amboy Police Department, the Woodbridge Police Department, the Paterson Police Department, the Edison Police Department, the Bloomfield Police Department, the City of Passaic, the Haledon Police Department, the Newark Police Department, the North Brunswick Police Department, the Paramus Police Department, and the New York Police Department for their roles in this collaborative effort to investigate and apprehend the individuals engaging in the smash-and-grab robberies, occurring across multiple jurisdictions. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Thompson of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit and Sean Nadel of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. ###Defense counsel:Shaquan Jones: F.R. “Chip” Dunne, III, Esq., Springfield, NJKayron Caldwell: John Yauch, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Newark, NJWyzier Peterson: Benjamin West, Esq., Office of the Federal Public Defender, Newark, NJCorey Boyd: Charles Alvarez, Esq., Bloomfield, NJTerrance Drakeford: Stacy A. Biancamano, Esq., Kenilworth, NJDerreck Proctor: Michael J. Pappa, Esq., Hazlet, NJ