Below is an official statement from the US Lawyer’s Office in the Central District of Florida regarding the guilty plea of a Mexican citizen charged with illegally transporting an undocumented alien.
Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe has announced the filing of criminal charges accusing Talea Williams (21, North Fort Myers) and Javion Ward (21, Fort Myers) of the Hobbs Act robbery. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Williams and Ward committed numerous armed robberies in Hillsboro, Sumter, Manatee and Sarasota counties in the week of September 15, 2025, all in proximity to I-75, according to the complaint. With each robbery, Williams or Ward entered a store armed with firearms and asked the clerk for money.
The complaint alleges Williams devised a plan to steal the store near I-75. She provided the vehicles and firearms they used. On September 16, 2025, Ward and Williams drove to a convenience store in Tampa. Ward entered the store, wielding a pistol, demanding money, and earning about $600.
Early in the morning of September 17, 2025, Williams and Ward went to a gas station on Lake Panasovkie. There, Williams tried to use the same firearm to steal the store.
On the morning of September 19, 2025, Williams ran Ward to four more stores (Gibsonton, Ellenton, Nokomis and Northport), each time Ward went in with a firearm and demanded money. In Gibsonton, Ward jumped over the counter to try to access the safe. In Ellenton, he threatened to pistol his employees if they weren’t moving faster.
Hours after the final robbery, Williams posted a photo on Williams and Ward’s social media, with Ward holding cash in both hands.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Williams’ residence on the morning of September 20, 2025, retrieving items that matched the clothing worn by Williams and Ward.
These arrests were the result of an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and were supported by the Department of Alcohol, cigarettes, firearms, explosives and the Hillsboro County Sheriff’s Office, Tampa Police Department, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, North Port Police Department and Myers Police Department. American attorney Michael R. Kenneth is indicted.
A complaint is a formal charge of a defendant committing one or more violations of federal criminal code, and all defendants are presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty.
The case is part of Take Back America, a national initiative that marshals the Department of Justice’s complete resources to fight off illegal immigrant aggression, achieve the complete exclusion of cartels and cross-border criminal organizations (TCOs), and protects communities from perpetrators of violent crime. Reclaiming business Streamlines efforts and resources from the American Organized Criminal Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETFS) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
