Tuskegee Man Found Guilty in Federal Court for Multiple Armed Robberies and Carjacking

Tuskegee Man Found Guilty in Federal Court for Multiple Armed Robberies and Carjacking

Tuskegee Man Found Guilty in Federal Court for Multiple Armed Robberies and Carjacking

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Middle District of Alabama
30 June 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Montgomery, Alabama—Yesterday, a federal jury found Tariq Khalil Jones, 35, of Tuskegee, Alabama, guilty of 23 separate charges stemming from numerous armed robberies in Alabama and Georgia while brandishing and discharging a firearm, and an attempted carjacking, announced A. Clark Morris, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. During his crime spree, Jones robbed various convenience stores and other cash-heavy businesses, including:

Dollar General on Notasulga Road in Tallassee, Alabama;
Tiger Spirits on Webster Road, in Auburn, Alabama;
Chevron Store 10 on West Longleaf Drive in Auburn, Alabama;
QuikTrip convenience store on East Highway 34 in Newnan, Georgia;
Marathon Service Station on Lafayette Parkway in LaGrange, Georgia;
Wing N’ Burger Factory on Hogansville Road in LaGrange, Georgia;
Papa John’s restaurant on South Memorial Drive in Prattville, Alabama;
Family Dollar on 2nd Avenue in Opelika, Alabama;
Family Dollar on Broadnax Street in Dadeville, Alabama; and
Dollar General on County Road 89 in Camp Hill, Alabama.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Jones used a firearm during each of these crimes and pointed it at the victims. However, during two of the robberies, he went even further. After the robbery in Prattville, he shot at a vehicle with a father and his 3-year old daughter inside because he thought it was following him. Then, while fleeing the robbery of the Dollar General in Camp Hill, he attempted to carjack a Volkswagen Beetle from a woman in the parking lot.

Jones faces mandatory life sentences for the robberies and attempted carjacking, plus 282 years for multiple counts of brandishing and discharging a firearm during these crimes. The life sentences for Jones were triggered due to his four previous robbery convictions in state court. Federal law imposes a mandatory life sentence if the defendant is convicted in federal court of a serious violent felony, and has two or more previous convictions for serious violent felonies. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to taking trigger pullers and violent criminals off the streets,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Morris. “Each one of the crimes that Tariq Jones committed placed the lives of innocent people in jeopardy, including a 3-year old girl. I commend each law enforcement agency that worked together to bring him to justice and make our communities safer.”

“This case is a perfect example of cooperative effort in law enforcement with over ten federal, state, and local agencies coming together when the stakes are extremely high,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky. “The jury’s decision today says they approve of law enforcements efforts to stop dangerous individuals like Tariq Khalil Jones from continuing his extremely hazardous multi-state crime spree.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Auburn Police Division, the Camp Hill Police Department, the Coweta County Sheriff's Office (Newnan, GA), the Dadeville Police Department, the LaGrange, Georgia Police Department, the Opelika Police Department, the Prattville Police Department, and the Tallassee Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys John Geer and Brandon Bates prosecuted the case.