RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III sentenced JUSTIN COLLINS MITCHELL, 3O,of Greenville, North Carolina, to 78 months in prison and 3 years of supervised released for aiding and abetting the robbery of a business engaged in interstate commerce. MITCHELL previously pled guilty to this charge on August, 4, 2014. Chief Judge Dever previously sentenced MITCHELL’S codefendants, CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL HARDY, 26,and MELVIN TERRELL TURNER, 24,both of Greenville, North Carolina.
On Oct. 15, 2014, HARDY received a 30 month prison sentence for the robbery charge and an 84 month prison sentence to run consecutively for the charge of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for total sentence of 114 months. Once HARDY is released from the Bureau of Prisons, he will be supervised for a term of 5 years.
On Sept. 18, 2014, TURNER received a 21 month prison sentence for aiding and abetting the robbery and will be supervised for a period of 3 years upon his release from the Bureau of Prisons.
On Feb. 20, 2013, at 9:55 pm, two masked men, including HARDY, robbed a Family Dollar Store on Memorial Drive in Greenville, N.C. of $2,299.73. HARDY possessed a semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at an assistant manager. HARDY and the second masked man ordered the assistant manager to open the store’s register and safe. The investigation revealed that MITCHELL and HARDY solicited TURNER, an employee of the store, to assist in the robbery. TURNER provided information to MITCHELL and HARDY that they used to plan and execute the robbery. There was insufficient evidence to charge the second masked man.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Greenville Police Department. The federal prosecution was handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Glenn Perry. Mr. Perry is a prosecutor with the Pitt County District Attorney’s Office. Pitt County District Attorney Kimberly Robb has assigned Mr. Perry to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force criminal matters. Mr. Perry’s assignment to the United States Attorney’s Office has been made possible by grants funded by the Governor’s Crime Commission.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
