Armed robbers await sentence
By John Joyce
Published in News on November 7, 2013 1:46 PM
Five men who robbed at least 15 restaurants across eastern North Carolina from September 2011 through January 2012 have pleaded guilty in federal court and are awaiting sentencing.
The armed robbers struck the KFC on Berkeley Boulevard on Jan. 23, 2012, and hit the Bojangles in Snow Hill soon after.
Trevin Maurice Gibson and Michael Rondale Gibson, both of Greenville, Prentise Javaughn Wilkins of Williamston and Deshaun Entrea Spruill of Robersonville each pleaded guilty to two counts of using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, or to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime.
The arrests began soon after the end of the crime spree.
Both Gibson and Wilkins each entered their pleas Monday after Spruill had done so on Friday.
The fifth man, Marcus Roshawn Garrett, entered his plea at an earlier date, according to a United States Justice Department press release. Garret will be sentenced in December, whereas the rest of the defendants will have to wait until February to learn their fate.
Each face a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole. The potential maximum sentence is life in prison.
The investigation was conducted by the state Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and contributed to by the Greenville, Williamston, Robersonville, Wilson, Farmville, Elizabeth City, Snow Hill, and Goldsboro police departments and the Pitt County Sheriff's Office.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.