Man gets 176 years in prison
By From staff reports
Published in News on December 6, 2012 1:46 PM
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Domonic Devarrise Usher
A Goldsboro man has been sentenced to more than 176 years in prison for his part in a series of business robberies in Goldsboro, Pikeville and Wilson between 2009 and 2010.
Domonic Devarrise Usher, 30, Wednesday was sentenced in federal court to 2,119 months in prison and ordered to pay $13,749 in restitution by Chief United States District Court Judge James C. Dever III.
Following a four-day trial in July, a jury found Usher guilty on all 15 counts charged in a May 23 indictment.
The charges included one count of conspiring to rob businesses engaged in interstate commerce; seven counts of robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce; and seven counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Usher, along with co-conspirators, Anthony David Brown, Derrick Dove Jr., Ivory Javaughntae Harris, Malcolm Jamal Artis, all of Goldsboro, and Antonio Deonte Jones of Pikeville robbed businesses over a four-month period from 2009 to 2010.
In each robbery, the defendants entered the store wearing bandannas over their faces, gloves, black toboggans and dark clothing. At each robbery, one of the defendants would point a gun at the store clerk, and demand money, while the others would seize the cash drawer from the register and/or cash from the store safe.
The robbers would then flee in a car driven by a co-conspirator who acted as a lookout during the robbery.
Evidence presented during the trial revealed that on Nov. 27, 2009, Usher and another individual robbed the Dollar General Store on U.S. 117 South, Goldsboro. They stole $2,000 from the register and safe.
On Dec. 13, 2009, Usher and two additional individuals robbed the Dollar General Store on South Goldsboro Street in Pikeville of $2,724.
On Jan. 25, 2010, Usher, along with Brown and Artis, robbed the Dollar General Store on U.S. 13 North, Goldsboro of $722.
Two days later, Usher and Brown robbed the Family Dollar Store on South George Street, Goldsboro, of $1,445.
On Feb. 19, 2010, Usher, with Artis and Harris, robbed the Dollar General Store on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Wilson of $1,500.
On Feb. 23, 2010, Usher, Brown, Artis, and Harris returned to the Dollar General Store on U.S. 117 South, and robbed it again. This time they took $2,386.
On March 13, 2010, Usher, Brown, Artis, Harris, and Jones went back to the Dollar General Store on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, and robbed it again, taking $2,788.
This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which encourages federal, state and local agencies to cooperate in a unified "team effort" against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office; the Goldsboro Police Department; the Pikeville Police Department; the Wilson Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant United States Attorney Ethan Ontjes prosecuted the case.