Wayne Tarpley, Armed Robbery, Florida 2024

A Miami resident has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a series of armed robberies targeting shoppers in the city.

Wayne Tarpley, 30, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty on January 24 for his role in the robberies, which took place in August and September of last year.

According to the agreed-upon factual proffers, Tarpley and his co-defendants, Tyreke Lafane Jackson, 23, and Da’Vontae Bobby McCrae, 23, both of Miami, planned and carried out the robberies, targeting individuals who appeared to be carrying large amounts of cash.

On August 19, 2022, McCrae and Tarpley discussed their plan to ‘lurk the jewelers’ and ‘see who walk in with a big bag obvious money,’ before robbing a victim at gunpoint.

Later that day, Jackson crashed a car into a vehicle leaving the Design District, and Tarpley and McCrae got out and robbed the victims of a watch they had just purchased.

The defendants face up to life in prison for their crimes, which include conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Tarpley is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23, while his co-defendants are set to be sentenced on March 25 and February 23, respectively.

The case was investigated by the Miami Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arielle Klepach and Hayden P. O’Byrne handling the prosecution.

Tarpley’s guilty plea stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together law enforcement and the community to reduce violent crime.

Anyone with information related to possible gun crimes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Related court documents and information can 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 23-cr-20132.

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