Florida armed home invaders found guilty of federal crimes

FLORIDA – A jury has convicted three Florida men accused of an armed home invasion, robbery, and kidnapping said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO).

According to the USAO, after a two-week trial, a South Florida federal jury found Kejuan Brandon Campbell, Antonio Charles James Jr., and Dionte Alexander-Wilcox guilty on one count of conspiracy to kidnap, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of bank robbery, and three counts of carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

The evidence at trial revealed that on October 11, 2020, Campbell, James, and Alexander-Wilcox conspired to commit a home invasion against a husband and wife – both of whom were over 60 — because the couple’s estranged nephew had reportedly stolen $20,000 from Campbell earlier that day.

Wearing masks and gloves and carrying firearms, the three defendants forced their way into the couple’s home, assaulted the husband, and forced both victims to lie on the floor by pointing guns at them, the USAO said.

“The defendants ransacked the couple’s home and took their phones and a wallet. Using the wife’s telephone, the defendants tried using CashApp to transfer $20,000 themselves, but the transactions were declined,” the USAO said in its statement.

“Campbell then forced the wife to travel with him to multiple stores to try to cash $20,000 in checks. The other two defendants kept the husband at home, holding him at gunpoint. “

After the stores declined to process the checks, the defendants reportedly stayed overnight at the victims’ home and planned to get the money from the couple’s bank the next morning, said the USAO. During their stay, the defendants are said to have cooked, drank alcohol, and smoked marijuana.

The defendants allegedly kept a gun pointed at the couple inside and did not allow them to speak to one another.

At one point, with a gun in hand, Alexander-Wilcox is alleged to have forced the wife into a bedroom and raped her.

The next morning, Campbell reportedly forced the wife to withdraw $20,000 from ATMs. After returning the wife home, the defendants filled a couple of suitcases with the victims’ jewelry, as well as items on which the defendants might have left their DNA, the USAO said.

The defendants reportedly threatened to kill the victims if they called the police, locked the victims in a bathroom, took their house key, and left with the cash.

U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn will sentence the defendants in Fort Lauderdale federal court on April 27, 2023, — Campbell at 9:30 a.m., James at 10 a.m., and Alexander-Wilcox at 10:30 am. They each face between 15 years and life in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office, and interim Chief of Police Jose Vargas of the Miramar Police Department announced the guilty verdict.

FBI Miami and Miramar Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Davie Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, and Lauderhill Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ajay Alexander and Brooke Latta are prosecuting this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling the asset forfeiture aspect of the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-cr-60011.