RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal jury convicted Timarcus Lavonnte Britt, 29, on four charges of robbery and four charges of brandishing a gun during these robberies.“This thuggish crew terrorized hard working, normal folks as they marauded around Eastern NC in July 2023. This antisocial terrorism has no place in polite society, and our civic minded jury righteously rejected his bogus excuses. This man can expect to spend decades in prison regretting his crimes. Eastern North Carolina will be safer for it.” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.Three individuals including Britt, Jaliek Grant, and a juvenile, engaged in a spree of five attempted armed robberies on July 11, 2023, between 1 and 4 a.m. in Greenville, Williamston, and Robersonville. Britt’s crew first drove over 50 miles from their homes in Northampton County to Greenville and robbed a woman at gunpoint in the parking lot outside of a Speedway on Highway 264. The victim described how two masked men ran up on each side of her car, pointed guns at her, and took her keys, purse, and cell phone.Next, they drove to a Speedway in Greenville. At that store, two masked men burst into the store aiming guns with extended magazines. They pushed behind the counter, shoved the guns into the cashier’s face, and demanded money. After emptying the register and stealing the cashier’s phone, they ran out of the store. Then the crew drove to a Speedway on NC 33 in Greenville, wearing the same outfits and armed with guns. Again, they shoved their guns upside the cashier’s head, emptied the register, and stole cigarettes and Backwoods cigarillos. They repeated the same pattern at Speedway stores in Williamston and Robersonville—two suspects, same outfits, same guns, shoved in the cashiers’ faces, and stole money, cigarettes, and Backwoods cigarillos.Britt’s gang ended their spree at a Speedway in Oak City. After the spate of other robberies, Martin County Sheriff’s Deputies had thankfully called ahead to employees at the Oak City store warning: lock the doors. When the criminals arrived at the Oak City store at 4:15 a.m., they could not figure how to open the locked doors, so they just ran away. Multiple law enforcement agencies across the two counties met to discuss the similarities. The case broke open when they identified and tracked the same car from several stores using license plate readers and city camera footage. Grant owned it. Officers executed a search warrant on Grant’s car finding the distinct clothes from one robber, Grant’s phone, and a pile of Backwoods cigarillos. Searching Grant’s phone, they identified the juvenile and Britt as the other two villains seen on surveillance footage: two who entered each store and one getaway driver. A search of Britt’s residence revealed the gun Britt used during the robberies along with multiple extended magazines.Britt faces a mandatory minimum of 28 years’ imprisonment when the Court sentences him.W. Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The FBI, ATF, Greenville Police Department, Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, Williamston Police Department, Martin County Sheriff’s Office, and Robersonville Police Department investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Dixon and Khari Cyrus prosecuted the case.A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:24-CR-00068-C-2.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice