Georgia man sentenced to more than 21 years for string of armed robberies in Charlotte
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney's Office
CHARLOTTE, NC (FOX 46) - A Georgia man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 21 years in prison for a string of armed robberies to Charlotte-area businesses, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to filed court documents, between November 17 and November 23, 2015, Alex Arnez Jones, 27, robbed five Charlotte businesses at gunpoint.
Court documents show that on November 17, Jones robbed a Boost mobile store located on Central Avenue, a Fuel Mart gas station on North Tryon Street and a Subway restaurant on South Boulevard. Upon entering each business, Jones pulled out a firearm and demanded money from store employees. In one of the robberies, he pointed his firearm at a store employee, threatening to shoot her if she did not listen.
Just four days later, on November 21, 2015, Jones robbed Beautiful Hair Place, a business located on Central Avenue in Charlotte. Police said he entered the store and, while holding a firearm, he ordered the store clerk to put store merchandise into a backpack he was carrying and to hand over all the cash from the register.
According to court documents, when the employee told Jones she did not have access to the register, Jones took $200 from the employee's wallet. On November 23, 2015, Jones entered iBeauty, a store located on North Tryon Street, posing as a customer interested in certain products. After a few minutes inside the store, court records show that Jones pulled out his firearm and, pointing it at the store owner, demanded cash and merchandise.
Jones pleaded guilty in August 2016 to five counts of Hobbs act robbery and one count of use and carry of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Jones is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
This investigation was handled by the FBI and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.