Parsippany Robbery & Theft Lawyer
On Wednesday, April 29, 53 year old Marilyn Nadeau of East Rutherford entered a guilty plea in response to charges of robbing an elderly woman in Parsippany. The robbery charges had been pending for over two years, in connection with a robbery committed by both Nadeau and her boyfriend, Joseph DeFreitas, age 43, also of East Rutherford. At her hearing on April 29, Nadeau confirmed for the Court that she and DeFreitas collaborated in robbing a 71 year old woman, Pauline Yeager, of New Hampshire, after they encountered the woman while driving in Parsippany and began following her. After pulling up next to the elderly woman’s vehicle, Nadeau reported, her boyfriend had used a fake gun to threaten the woman in order to carjack the elderly woman’s vehicle. Nadeau then followed in the couple’s vehicle while DeFreitas drove the victim to a bank, at which Nadeau made a withdrawal from the victim’s bank account. Nadeau further admitted that she did not make any efforts to call for help for the victim when she discovered that DeFreitas had tied up the victim and left her in the vehicle’s trunk.
Parsippany Robbery Penalties
Under N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1, potential penalties for robbery begin at 5 to 10 years’ jail time for a second-degree crime. In Nadeau’s case, since threats and an apparent weapon were involved in the commission of the crime, potential penalties increase to 10 to 20 year’s jail time and the offense is escalated to a first-degree crime. In exchange for her agreement to enter a guilty plea in the matter, Nadeau was ultimately issued a sentence of 12 year in jail, notably on the low end of the potential range of jail time allowed by statute, despite facing additional charges related to this incident as well as suspicions that the couple may also have been responsible for a home invasion and robbery in Connecticut around the same time. DeFreitas, despite also agreeing to enter a guilty plea last year, has been sentenced to 25 years of jail time for his more active role in the crime and associated charges of kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, conspiracy and credit card theft.