United States Attorney Joseph P. Kelly announced that Preston Pope, age 28, and Jeron Morris, age 25, both of Omaha, Nebraska, were sentenced today by the Honorable Laurie Smith Camp for their involvement in two Omaha robberies. Pope received a sentence of 62 years, 3 months of imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Morris received a 10-year sentence to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. They were both ordered to pay a total of $11,555.92 in restitution.
On Aug. 11, 2015, at approximately 12:42 a.m., Morris and Pope robbed the Walgreen’s at 3001 Dodge Street, Omaha. They had bandanas or masks on their faces and were also wearing gloves when they demanded cash from an employee and a customer. They took $556.14 from the store and $12 from a customer. An outside witness saw them leave the store and flee in an older model white sedan.
At approximately 5:43 p.m. the same day, Pope and Morris, while wearing masks and gloves, entered the U.S. Bank inside the No Frills grocery store at 4240 South 50th Street. Again, they each were waving a handgun. Two tellers had $9,984 taken at gunpoint. A witness was able to get the license plate of the white sedan they were in when they left the area.
Officers located the car about a mile away and discovered it had been stolen. Morris’s DNA was found in the car. There was also a.40 caliber magazine located in the car.
On Aug. 14, 2015, officers attempted to stop a van for a traffic violation. The driver of the vehicle, Pope, fled from officers first in the vehicle and then on foot. Pope was caught. Officers retraced the chase route and found a.40 handgun on the side of the road. The gun was tested for DNA and it was found to contain Pope’s DNA. The magazine in the gun matched the magazine found in the white car three days prior. Officers served a search warrant at the residence where Pope was staying and they found an empty box for a.40 handgun with two magazine. The serial number of the box matched the gun discarded when Pope was chased.
After Pope was arrested it was discovered he had accompanied a relative of his to a local car dealership on Aug. 13, 2015. The relative paid $2,300 cash for a vehicle and a $10 bill used in the sale was one of the bills taken in the U.S. Bank robbery.
Morris previously pled guilty to one charge of brandishing a firearm at Walgreen’s and robbing the U.S. Bank. Pope went to trial and was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, robbing Walgreen’s, robbing U.S. Bank and brandishing a firearm at each location. Based on his prior criminal history he was deemed to be a career offender.
The case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
