Man sentenced to prison for armed robbery
By John Joyce
Published in News on October 15, 2015 1:46 PM
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Joseph Decore Simms
A Goldsboro man sentenced in federal court Wednesday will serve 16 years in federal prison followed by five years supervised probation after his release, according to a press release.
The sentence is a result of federal prosecutors adopting a local Violent Crimes Task Force case in which two Goldsboro men allegedly robbed a McDonald's restaurant on U.S. 70 in April 2014.
Joseph Decore Simms, 26, was convicted of robbery affecting interstate commerce, using a firearm during a crime of violence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Simms and another man, William Earl Warren Jr., 26, were both charged locally at the time of their arrests with first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of stolen goods, and possession of a stolen firearm by a convicted felon.
According to information used by Capt. Theresa Chiero of the Goldsboro Police Department Violent Crimes Task Force to elevate the case to the federal level, Simms and Warren climbed through the drive-thru of the McDonald's, pistol whipped the manager and fled with an undisclosed amount of money.
Warren was captured during a traffic stop shortly after the robbery and the money and the weapon used in the crime were recovered. Simms was captured at a later date and charged.
While being held in the Wayne County Detention Center awaiting trial, Simms attempted to escape with three other inmates by trying to chisel through the cement walls in February 2015.
That escape was thwarted and the four men, including Simms, were all charged with felony attempoting to escape from jail.
Simms criminal history also played a role in his case being elevated to federal court.
According to the press release, Simms was notified via a Project Safe Neighborhoods program in Winston-Salem -- similar to the one used here known as Goldsboro Partners Against Crime or GPAC -- the February before he committing the robbery for which he was convicted Wednesday.
He failed to heed the warning the program delivered and he declined to take advantage of the community resource offered to him to change his ways, the release said.
Federal prison sentences offer no reduction in time for good behavior or for credit for time served awaiting trial. Simms will serve each day of the 16 years sentence, officials said.
Warren received a sentence of nine years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised probation in an earlier proceeding.