FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for
Armed Robbery of T-Mobile Store
Tied Employees at Gunpoint and Stole About 70 iPhones and Androids
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 25-year-old Brooklyn man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his involvement in an armed robbery of a T-Mobile store in Flatbush. The defendant and an accomplice tied two employees at gunpoint and took about 70 smartphones and the workers’ personal iPhones, one of which was located using the Find My iPhone app, leading to an arrest.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “I am committed to keeping Brooklyn safe and will not tolerate such brazen robberies. Businesses should know that they can operate and thrive in our borough and that those who victimize their workers will be vigorously prosecuted.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Patrice Dorcil, 25, of Canarsie, Brooklyn. He was sentenced yesterday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Cassandra Mullen to 14 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision following his conviction last month of first-degree robbery after a jury trial. A codefendant, Roberd Dersonvil, 24, pleaded guilty in September 2017 to the same charge and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on October 31, 2015, at about 7 p.m., the defendant and codefendant entered a T-Mobile store located on the corner of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues and pretended to be interested in buying a cell phone. The defendant then brandished a firearm and ushered the two employees of the store to a back room, where an inventory closet is located.
The two defendants used duct tape to tie the employees’ hands behind their backs and the defendant filled two large laundry bags with iPhones and Android phones from the inventory closet while his accomplice held the workers at gunpoint. Dersonvil struck each employee in the head with the gun, demanded their personal cell phones and threatened to shoot someone, the evidence showed. The entire incident was captured on surveillance video.
After the defendants left the store with about 70 stolen phones, the employees managed to loosen the duct tape and called 911. They then used the Find My iPhone app to track their personal phones. After about 20 minutes, Dersonvil was located via the app and was apprehended by police. A firearm, lock and keys from the T-Mobile store and the employees’ cell phones were found in a bush nearby. Dorcil was subsequently identified as the second perpetrator and surrendered to police on April 30, 2016.
Traces of Dersonvil’s DNA were found on the recovered gun. A portion of the duct tape that was used to bind the employees’ hands had traces of Dorcil’s DNA.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Julie DeGenaro, Deputy Bureau Chief of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Aaron Fishkin, also of the Green Zone, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney David Klestzick, Bureau Chief.
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