Memphis Man Sentenced to 141 Months in Federal Prison for Armed Business Robbery |
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Topics: O’Reilly Auto Parts
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Tennessee
4 November 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Memphis, TN –Demarius Jones, 39, has been sentenced to 141 months in federal prison for committing robbery affecting interstate commerce and using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, on May 31, 2018, at 5:00pm, Jones entered O’Reilly Auto Parts on Lamar Ave., pretending to be a customer. Jones asked the store clerk for a brake caliper and rotors for a Dodge Avenger. When the clerk produced the parts, Jones tried to forcibly take the items without paying. He struggled with the employee and ran out of the store empty handed.
On the same day, about two hours later, Jones returned to the same O'Reilly Auto Parts location, this time armed with a firearm. Jones pointed the gun at the store employees and demanded cash from the registers as well as the brake caliper and rotors he attempted to steal earlier. In total, Jones received $569.55 in cash and auto parts. The robbery was captured on video surveillance.
On November 1, 2019, U.S. District Court Judge Mark S. Norris sentenced Jones to 141 months in federal prison followed by 3 years supervised release. Jones previously pled guilty in federal court to both counts on July 30, 2019. There is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "Business owners have a fundamental right to be safe from armed robbers who terrorize our communities with their lawlessness. The senselessness of gun violence has a long lasting effect on victims of armed robbery, and we will no longer allow gun crime to rule our streets. This 11-year sentence sends a clear message that there will always be a reckoning, a real and significant consequence, for the commission of violent crimes."
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Memphis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Raney Irwin prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.