Grace Katana, Hobbs Act Conspiracy, Massachusetts 2022

A Worcester man was sentenced to 64 months in prison for his role in an attempted robbery of a Rockland-based glassware dealer. Grace Katana, a/k/a “King Grace,” 31, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 64 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Katana was convicted by a federal jury of conspiring to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, commonly referred to as Hobbs Act robbery. He was indicted in July 2019 with co-defendants Junior Melendez, Shaun Walker, and Keith Johnson.

In March 2019, Katana conspired with Melendez, Walker, and allegedly, Johnson to rob the home of a high-end glassware dealer in Rockland. From March 18, 2019 through March 25, 2019, intercepted communications of a cellphone used by Melendez revealed that Katana and his co-conspirators had planned an armed home invasion and robbery of the Rockland residence.

During the afternoon of March 25, 2019, the four men traveled over 60 miles from Worcester to Rockland in two vehicles. Katana and Melendez first scoped out the robbery target location, a residence which at that time was occupied by a female resident. Katana and Melendez then proceeded to a nearby hardware store and purchased a two-foot iron crowbar, a screwdriver, and razor blades.

Law enforcement monitoring the defendants converged on the four men in the parking lot of the hardware store – disrupting the attempted robbery. In addition to the items just purchased at the hardware store, a loaded .380 firearm was seized from one of the vehicles.

Melendez and Walker previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 29, 2022, and Nov. 15, 2022, respectively. Johnson has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

The authorities involved in the case include United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent; and Rockland Police Chief John R. Llewellyn.

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