FBI: Broomall Home Invasion Robber Convicted at Trial

PHILADELPHIA–The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of Philadelphia announced Feb. 9 the conviction of Clarence Powell, 23, of Philadelphia, in the connection of two home robberies–one in Broomall and another in Upper Darby–involving two Asian business owners and their families in December 2008.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Curtis Joyner convicted Powell on five counts, said the FBI in a press release Wednesday. Powell was convicted for the conspiracy to commit robbery, two counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and two counts of using and carrying a firearm during the acted crime.

According to the FBI, Powell and his two partners in crime, Michael Lassiter and Troy Hill, followed a Philadelphia shop owner to her home in Broomall after closing the store for the day on Dec. 1, 2008.

Powell, Lassiter and Hill then proceeded to tie up the shop owner and her husband, assaulted them and stole money as well as other property items, said the FBI.

The FBI stated the three robbers followed the owner of a Dollar Plus Discount store in Philadelphia to his home in Upper Darby prior to Dec. 18, 2008.

On Dec. 18, 2008, the three robbers, armed with handguns and a sawed-off shotgun, forced their way into the Upper Darby home, restrained several members of the business owner's family, stole money and other property items before escaping in a getaway car driven by Alexis Byrd-Arroyo, according to the FBI.

According to the FBI, Powell already has a prior firearm conviction and faces a mandatory 50 years behind bars when he is sentenced on May 3 of this year. The FBI said he is also waiting trial for an armed carjacking.

Lassiter, Hill and Byrd-Arroyo pleaded guilty to the armed home invasions. Lassiter and Hill will be sentenced at the end of the month on Feb. 23, while Byrd-Arroyo will be sentenced on March 16 of this year.

This case involving the two Asian home robberies was investigated by the FBI, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Marple Township Police Department, and the Upper Darby Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Arlene Fisk and Thomas Zaleski, said the FBI.

As part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a joint initiative by the United States Attorney’s Office, each of the nine District Attorney's Offices in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the FBI, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute dangerous firearms offenders in federal court, where the defendants are likely to receive a substantial sentence upon conviction, all participated in the investigation and prosecution of this crime, said the FBI.

The FBI stated, "As an extension of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the United States Attorney’s Office, FBI, ATF, Philadelphia Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies established the Hobbs Act Robbery Task Force to investigate and prosecute organized gangs and other groups committing commercial armed robberies in the district."