DALLAS - A Dallas man, Kevin Howard, who admitted that he and his accomplice, Jerry Ware, committed the armed robberies of five 7-Eleven/RaceTrac stores in Dallas in October 2014, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to serve 300 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Howard, 24, pleaded guilty in April 2016 to one count of using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence. Co-defendant Ware, 28, also of Dallas, pleaded guilty in July 2015 to two counts of the same offense.
According to documents filed in the case, the two committed five armed robberies in Dallas on Oct. 24, 2014, and into the early morning hours of Oct. 25, 2014, at the following locations:
Oct. 24, 2014, 11:51 p.m. 7-Eleven store 2223 S. Beckley
Oct. 25, 2014, 12:10 a.m. RaceTrac store 8124 Forest Lane
Oct. 25, 2014, 12:35 a.m. 7-Eleven store 9320 Skillman
Oct. 25, 2014, 12:50 a.m. 7-Eleven store 10340 Forest Lane
Oct. 25, 2014, 1:20 a.m. 7-Eleven store 14801 Coit Road
All of these five robberies were committed in essentially the same manner, including Ware’s use and brandishing of the silver loaded firearm to threaten and force the store clerks to comply with his demands, while Howard stayed in the car as the getaway driver.
Howard also admitted that after this robbery spree, on Oct. 28, 2014, he, on his own, committed the armed robbery of a 7-Eleven store at 10340 Forest Lane - the same store he and Ware robbed on Oct. 25, 2014. Howard entered the store, brandished a loaded firearm, and demanded the cash-register money from the clerk. Minutes after the robbery, officers with the Dallas Police Department identified and arrested him. Inside the car, pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement found the clothing Howard used in the robbery and the firearm, a loaded, chrome-colored Jimenez Arms, Model JA Nine, 9mm pistol.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dallas Police Department. Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Dunn prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
