Washington—Rapper Trevor Jonathan Wright, also known as “Taliban Glizzy,” has been sentenced to just over 18 years in prison for his role in a series of armed jewelry store robberies along the East Coast from 2022-2023.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia, Wright was the leader of a 15-man crew that targeted jewelry stores with South Asian owners.
They amassed millions of dollars from the stolen goods, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in the release.
Wright, 34, pleaded guilty Sept. 16, 2025, to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act Robbery), brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
In his plea agreement, Wright accepted responsibility for his roles in the June 10, 2022, armed robbery of Virani Jewelers in Iselin, New Jersey, ($1.2 million in gold jewelry); the Oct. 25, 2022, armed robbery of Paradise Jewelry in Paterson, New Jersey, ($1.93 million in gold jewelry); and the Dec. 6, 2022, armed robbery of Kishek Jewelers in Jacksonville, Florida, ($700,000).
He also accepted responsibility for unlawful possession of a machine gun in Miami on May 27, 2021.
Wright was arrested in December 2022, about a week after the Kishek Jewelers robbery, on an outstanding warrant issued by the Southern District of Florida. He was charged in August 2023.
“Trevor Wright and his crew terrorized victims from Northern New Jersey to South Florida. His crew left behind a wake of destruction and great financial loss for family-owned businesses,” said Pirro.
In addition to a 219-month prison term, Judge Christopher R. Cooper ordered Wright to serve four years of supervised release.
From January 2022 to August 2023, Wright and 14 others schemed to rob multiple jewelry stores along the East Coast, according to court documents.
Some of the suspects’ vehicles were rented, stolen, or outfitted with stolen tags in order to evade law enforcement detection, the Attorney’s Office’s said, and at least one of the vehicles was carjacked by the crew at gunpoint.
The crew used sledgehammers to shatter doors and windows and employed a show of force to gain compliance from victims. At least one co-conspirator was armed with a firearm during each robbery.
They focused on taking heavy gold jewelry of high purity, which they later fenced in Miami and melted down into gold bars later sold for cash, said officials.
According to the Justice Department, the 14 other individuals, ranging in age from 22 to 35, have been charged in the case.
All but one of them has been sentenced.
Our special thanks to Lauren McLemore and National Jeweler for this update