Woodbridge Man Sentenced For Drug-Related Robbery: Feds

WOODBRIDGE, CT — A Woodbridge man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for a drug-related robbery, according to a statement from Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Ronald Christopher Spear-Zuleta, aka "Chris," 47, will also serve three years of supervised release.

According to prosecutors, Spear-Zuleta, his wife, Aninha Spear-Zuleta, and Maritza Torres robbed an associate of Chris Spear-Zuleta, who he claimed owed him money related to drug transactions.

In November 2017, Aninha Spear-Zuleta invited the associate's girlfriend to the Spear-Zuletas' Woodbridge home, where Chris Spear-Zuleta physically assaulted the girlfriend. At Chris Spear-Zuleta’s instruction, Aninha Spear-Zuleta and Torres then transported the girlfriend to a home she shared with the associate in Milford, where Aninha Spear-Zuleta and Torres stole several items, including cash, a gun, and several items of expensive clothing, prosecutors said.

In April 2018, Chris Spear-Zuleta’s associate was shot to death in front of Spear-Zuleta’s residence. The homicide investigation is ongoing.

Spear-Zuleta was arrested in San Francisco in December 2018, where he had been living and travelling under a variety of false identities. He has been detained since his arrest, prosecutors said.

Spear-Zuleta’s criminal history includes convictions for drug offenses and multiple assault offenses, including assaults involving a firearm, an assault on a law enforcement officer, and an assault on state personnel while he was incarcerated for a prior offense.

Chris Spear-Zuleta pleaded guilty in September 2019 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. Aninha Spear-Zuleta and Maritza Torres pleaded guilty to related charges and are scheduled to be sentenced on April 22 and 23, respectively.