An illegal alien and gang member tied to two area convenience store armed robberies occuring just eight days apart last year has pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy and violent crime offenses — and faces a possible life sentence as a result.

Ever Jose Contreras, 22, an illegal alien from Honduras and a known gang member, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit Hobbs Act robbery and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, both offenses in violation of Title 18 of the United States Code.

The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce “in any way or degree.” Although originally enacted in the 1940s to combat racketeering in labor-management disputes, the extortion statute of the Hobbs Act is frequently used in connection with cases involving public corruption, commercial disputes and corruption directed at members of labor unions.

A federal grand jury returned a criminal indictment on Aug. 6. Contreras’ plea was entered in federal court last Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

According to investigators and case facts provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on Nov. 15, 2008, Contreras and co-defendant Humberto Diaz entered the Your Convenience Store No. 3 in Wallace. Diaz approached the counter and pulled a knife, demanding all the money from the register. Contreras took $320 from the register drawer, after which both men fled.

Eight days later, on Nov. 23, Contreras, along with Diaz, and two other co-defendants, Jose Leonel Matute and Daniel Edgardo Rodriguez, entered the Your Convenience Store No. 755 in Burgaw. While a fourth co-defendant, Axel Contreras, waited in the car as a “look-out,” Contreras and Diaz went to the back of the business, where they encountered one of the store’s patron.

Diaz removed a .22-caliber revolver from his pocket, pointed it at the customer and demanded the man’s wallet. At the same time, Contreras also held the customer at knifepoint. Diaz fired one round from the gun in the direction of the customer’s head, investigators said.

According to investigators, while Contreras and Diaz robbed the man at the back of the store, Rodriguez and Matute were at the front of the store demanding the clerk remove all the money from the register. After taking $50 from the register, the defendants fled the store, hopping into the waiting car and speeding away.

The case against Contreras and others is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, an effort encouraging federal, state and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, specifically targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation-Wilmington office conducted the investigation along with the Pender County Sheriff’s Office and Wallace Police Department.

Contreras has not yet been sentenced, but could face life in prison.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is up to 20 years imprisonment followed by up to three years supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. For the charge of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence, the maximum penalty is up to life imprisonment, consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed, followed by up to five years of supervised release and a similar fine of up to $250,000.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.