3 indicted in $1.2M Apple delivery truck hijacking at Americana Manhasset

Three men face federal charges in connection with the armed hijacking of a delivery truck loaded with more than $1.2 million worth of Apple products outside the Americana Manhasset mall earlier this year, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Alan Christhofer Cedeno-Ferrer, 27, of the Bronx; Michael Mejia-Nunez, 29, of Manhattan; and 24-year-old Ennait Alexis Sirett-Padilla of Manhattan are each charged with Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property. An indictment was unsealed Thursday in federal court in Central Islip.

Federal prosecutors said the heist happened about 8 a.m. on Jan. 3 outside the Apple Store at the Americana Manhasset shopping center — just as two workers prepared to deliver Apple merchandise.

Court filings indicate three armed men approached the workers, forced one victim into the back of the delivery truck and zip-tied his hands. The second worker was ordered into the driver’s seat and forced to drive to a secluded parking area behind an office building on Northern Boulevard in Manhasset, prosecutors described.

The second victim was then also forced into the back of the truck and restrained, court documents indicate.

Authorities said a Home Depot box truck, rented by Cedeno-Ferrer using a fake Pennsylvania driver’s license was then backed up to the delivery truck and the stolen cargo — including scores of MacBook laptops, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and accessories — was carried into the second vehicle.

The victims were left locked inside the truck before one was able to free himself and call 911.

Investigators said the stolen merchandise was taken to a self-storage facility in Paterson, New Jersey, where surveillance footage allegedly captured Mejia-Nunez and Sirett-Padilla renting a storage unit used to move the products into a U-Haul truck and another vehicle.

Prosecutors said the Home Depot truck was later abandoned in the Bronx, and then recovered Jan. 5 by law enforcement. Cedeno-Ferrer’s fingerprints were allegedly found on a copy of the rental agreement recovered from the vehicle.

“These defendants committed a violent and brazen daytime robbery that terrorized the victims and endangered the public at one of the most popular shopping centers on Long Island,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement.

Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder noted the persistence of law enforcement in pursuing the suspects.

“These individuals came into Nassau County and committed a robbery with weapons that put people in fear,” he said. “We didn’t stop pursuing them until they were brought to justice.”

If convicted, the three defendants face up to 30 years in prison.

_{Top: Apple store in Manhasset and federal courthouse in Central Islip (Google Maps Street View).}