Participant in prolific Minneapolis smartphone theft ring sentenced to nearly 9 years

A nearly nine-year term has been given to a 22-year-old man for his role in the violent robbery of a patron outside a Minneapolis bar last summer, a crime that was part of a scheme by marauding thieves who stole more than 100 cellphones downtown and elsewhere in the city.

Jamarcus R. Tucker of St. Paul was sentenced Friday in Hennepin County District Court after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting aggravated robbery in connection with an attack around bar closing time on July 22.

With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Tucker is expected to serve slightly less than five years in prison and the balance on supervised release. Judge Kerry Meyer also imposed on Tucker a lifetime ban from owning a firearm. Also as part of his sentence, he was ordered to pay more than $6,500 in restitution.

Police say a group of six to eight strangers approached 25-year-old Jack Nadeau and his friend outside the Gay 90s nightclub. After Nadeau handed 19-year-old Kevron Detrell Williams Gray his phone, Gray slipped it to someone else in the group. When Nadeau asked for it back, Gray said he didn't have it, according to charges and other court filings.

Surveillance video showed the two men arguing, and then another stepped in, pushed Nadeau and punched him, according to the charges. Nadeau fell unconscious to the sidewalk.

Nadeau's cellphone apps were used in 20 fraudulent transactions totaling $1,760, including to purchase Nike shoes on Amazon, which were shipped to Gray's address, according to the charges.

Gray, of St. Paul, was sentenced in October to a term of 9 ¾ years after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated robbery for his role in the crime. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Gray is expected to serve about 6 ¼ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Police said thieves spent 10 months targeting victims' financial apps, according to charges and other court documents filed against some of the suspected perpetrators.

The plot begins often around bar close with a member of the group approaching someone and asking whether he can add his rap label's account to the person's Instagram, according to the documents.

If the target hands over the phone, the suspects steal it and make purchases on the phone's apps or transfer the owner's money into their own accounts. If the owner resists, a member of the group assaults the victim.

Charges of racketeering were filed against 12 people in September following an extensive joint investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The thieves' total take topped $275,000, according to prosecutors, and the stolen phones were sold to a Minneapolis man who shipped them to buyers overseas.

Zhongshuang Su, known as the "iPhone Man," allegedly made 40 shipments of 1,135 phones to addresses in Hong Kong. Prosecutors put the value of those phones at more than $800,000. Resolution of the charges against Su are pending.