Burglars Lure Marijuana Mogul With 'Hot Tub' Party, Attempt Robbery While Plying Him With Women

Two Massachusetts men have been sentenced to at least 15 years in jail on Tuesday by the U.S. District Court in Portland following a robbery scheme targeting money and medical marijuana at a York home in 2019.

The suspects, Eric Mercado, 33, of Lowell, Massachusetts, and Steven Hardy, 33, of Maynard, Massachusetts, have been sentenced for interfering with commerce through acts of violence, conspiring to do so, and discharging a firearm during the acts of violence, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced.

The men, together with the third defendant Nathaniel Rivera, of Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, confessed to their crimes in February 2020, according to Central Maine.

Their sentences were delayed during the pandemic until the court could convene in person. Rivera was sentenced on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery but was not charged with discharging a firearm.

Mercado, Hardy, and Rivera traveled from Lowell, Massachusetts to the York, Maine residence of a medical marijuana caregiver on May 11, 2019, according to court records. The group schemed to snatch money and marijuana from the property, posing as friends of the caregiver to allow them access inside the York home.

Rivera reportedly connived with two other women as they partied in the residence, drinking alcohol and socializing in a hot tub with the victim when Mercado and Hardy entered the house through a door unlocked by Rivera. Mercado, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, and Hardy, with a 9 mm pistol, were hiding their faces behind masks during the attack.

The duo moved to order the victim onto the ground as they demanded money and marijuana. The victim, however, refused the orders of the assailants, attempting to flee his own home, but was pursued by Mercado and Hardy, who later fired their guns but missed the victim.

The chase continued outside the property, where Mercado and Hardy continued to open fire but ultimately missed hitting the victim several times.

The suspects then returned to the home and fled the scene using the victim’s truck, which crashed a short time later, forcing them to flee on foot into the nearby woods. Rivera then picked up the men.

Three months later in August 2019, police responded to alerts at Rowe Falls Lane for another shooting. However, authorities did not confirm if the May and August incidents took place at the same residence and targeted the same victim.

FBI investigators tagged the August shooting as a targeted act of violence. They noted that the victim sustained life-threatening injuries from the attack. The York Police Department and the York County Sheriff’s Office assisted the FBI with their investigations.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Mercado and Maynard on Tuesday, Seacoast Online reported. Levy slapped Mercado with a 16 years prison term and four years of supervised release. Hardy will serve 15 and a half years in prison and four years of supervised release.

Both men will pay out a total of $3,740 in restitution to the victim.