A Charlotte man has been sentenced to more than 32 years in federal prison for a series of armed robberies, according to Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Andrew Marquis Jackson, 33, received a sentence of 394 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Jackson was convicted at trial on multiple charges, including three counts each of Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, two counts of possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of possessing and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
The case was announced by U.S. Attorney Ferguson along with Reid Davis, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in North Carolina, and Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
Court documents and trial testimony showed that Jackson worked with co-conspirators Joshua Jon’tavious Blount and Messiah Lynn Blair to rob at least three businesses in Charlotte at gunpoint.
The first incident occurred on January 24, 2023 at a Dunkin Donuts on Beatties Ford Road. Prosecutors said Jackson approached the counter demanding cash before firing into the ceiling. Blair searched for money in the back office while Jackson held an employee at gunpoint; Blount acted as getaway driver.
Three days later, on January 27, 2023, Jackson robbed a 7-Eleven on Brookshire Blvd., again firing into the ceiling before pointing his weapon at an employee and taking money from the register. During this robbery Blount pretended to be a customer inside the store.
On February 1, 2023, Blount entered the Family Dollar store on Beatties Ford Road to survey those present before Jackson and Blair entered armed with firearms. The group pointed their guns at an employee behind the counter and demanded cash from both registers and safe before fleeing.
Jackson remains in federal custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility once designated.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked both the FBI and CMPD for their roles in investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly is prosecuting.
