Brazilian National Charged with Armed Robbery

Diego Evangelista DaSilva, 33, was charged on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020 with one count of armed robbery. 

According to the charging documents, on April 21, 2020 at 8:20 p.m., an armed robbery occurred at Lanzilli’s Grocery in Boston. The robber was observed wearing a gray knit cap, a flesh colored mask, and a gray hooded sweatshirt with a red garment/jacket underneath. During the robbery, the robber passed a demand note to the clerk, made verbal demands for money and displayed what appeared to be a firearm tucked into the waistline of his pants. Following the robbery, law enforcement obtained surveillance photographs of the robber approaching Lanzillis, exiting the area, and at one point going between two buildings and later emerging wearing a red jacket and bulky clothing underneath. The robber then entered a store and used the store’s Wi-Fi to order a cab, which dropped off the robber near Washington Park in East Boston. 

​On April 26, 2020, law enforcement surveilled the area of Washington Park and observed an individual, who fit the physical description of the robber getting into and then driving away in a car. Law enforcement conducted a vehicle stop, determined that the driver, Da Silva, did not possess a driver’s license and detained him. During a later search of the car, a black semi-automatic BB gun was recovered under the vehicle’s seat, along with a gray knit cap. 

A search of DaSilva’s home led to the seizure of a red jacket and other items consistent with the clothing worn by the robber. DaSilva was later interviewed and admitted to robbing Lanzilli’s and to his involvement in 11 other armed robberies between Jan. 4, 2020 and April 20, 2020 in Greater Boston.

The charge of Hobbs Act robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.   

​United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Everett Police Chief Steven Mazzie; Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

​​The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.