Career thief gets 11 years for armed robbery spree

September 19, 2017 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Leonard Ely was sentenced to 11 years in prison for a series of armed robberies he carried out for drug money. AP photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP

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A career armed robber who has been in and out of prison since the 1970s, was sentenced back to 11 years Tuesday for a citywide armed robbery spree.

Leonard Ely previously pleaded guilty to three armed robberies and one attempted robbery in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, according to court documents.

“The defendant’s criminal history reflects that he is a career armed robber,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Bini said in Brooklyn’s federal court.

Ely has a robbery history dating back to a 1979 grand larceny sentence. Three robbery-related felony convictions followed with 34 violations in prison, including five violent ones.

He was on parole after a 25-year burglary and attempted murder prison term when he went on the recent spree.

Ely kept his head down and spoke quietly at his sentencing.

“I’m not a person that tries to go around and use excuses for my behavior,” Ely said after a loud sigh.

His $3,700 string took place between October and December 2015 until he was thwarted after an attempted Lexington Avenue Starbucks robbery. Bystanders found his ID and ATM card outside the café on the sidewalk, according to court filings.

He made off with $600 from M&H Deli and Smoke Shop at 2958 Fulton St., in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, $300 from a Bronx gas station and $2,800 from a Queens Farmer’s Market, within weeks of each other.

Ely previously confessed he was robbing the stores for drug money, according to Judge Roslynn Mauskopf.

One of his victims from the Queens robbery made a statement against him in court, recollecting the night Ely pulled a gun on him.

“I’m scared all the time,” Harsh Sood told the judge. “I never sleep.”

Ely’s defense attorney, Federal Defender Len Kamdang, argued for an 84-month prison term based on his client’s below-average intellectual ability, mental health and drug use.

“All Mr. Ely wants in his life … is peace, a stable situation,” Kamdang said. “Society has completely failed him.”

Ely was given a job as a custodian at a Christian Science Reading room, where he was a participant and also hid his weapon and ammo.

Four unsealed letters from other members of the religious group showed support for Ely.