Charleston Man Sentenced to More Than 13 Years in Carjacking Case |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office
13 March 2015
CHARLESTON, WV—United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced today that Joe Croft, 41, of Charleston, was sentenced to 158 months in federal prison following a conviction for carjacking.
On May 21, 2012, Croft, Robert Barcliff, and David Himes carried out an armed home-invasion robbery in South Charleston, West Virginia, of a drug dealer they believed would have high quality marijuana or proceeds from the sale of such marijuana. Barcliff arranged for a female friend to lure the victim to an apartment. Croft and Himes, dressed in dark clothing, then stormed the apartment at gunpoint to carry out the robbery. After they zip-tied the victim, Croft stole his car keys, and Croft and Himes fled the apartment. Croft took the victim’s vehicle because the group believed drugs or drug proceeds were located inside the vehicle.
This robbery was just one in a string of robberies committed by Barcliff and his associates. Beginning in the fall of 2011, Barcliff, Keith Glenn, Brandon Davis, Darrell Gillespie, Jamaa Johnson and other individuals conspired and agreed to commit armed home-invasion robberies of drug dealers in several states, including West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Many of the robberies occurred in and around Charleston. The object of the conspiracy and the robberies was to steal drugs—-including cocaine, pills, and marijuana—-along with drug proceeds and firearms. The group targeted drug dealers because they believed that drug dealers were not likely to call the police if they were robbed.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston sentenced Croft to 140 months’ imprisonment for the carjacking itself plus an additional 18 months for violating the terms of his supervised release from a prior conviction.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Charleston Police Department, and Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Monica D. Coleman is in charge of the prosecution.