Cousins sentenced for two armed robberies
A 17-year-old local youth and his older cousin were sentenced to eight years in prison for their roles in a pair of convenience store armed robberies this August.
The defendants, Terrence Antwain Johnson, 17, and Marcus Johnson, 21, entered guilty pleas recently before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to the charge of aggravated robbery and evading arrest. They were both sentenced to eight years in prison.
A third member of the robbery crew, Justin McGee, 16, who served as the wheel man for the robbers, was committed to the Department of Youth Development for an indefinite period. The teen-age Johnson was not so lucky during his juvenile transfer hearing as he was ordered to face his charges as an adult due to his larger juvenile offense record.
The teens were charged after they robbed Delta Express on Beersheba Street and Morrison Shell on the same evening. The victimized clerks said the youths pointed guns at them and demanded money. The Johnson cousins, who wore bandanas over their faces, reportedly took turns holding the gun on the clerks during the robberies.
The youths were spotted as they were leaving Morrison Shell by a deputy who went to the store on a hunch after hearing about the first robbery. The officer pursued the fleeing felons, opening fire on them at one point when they ran through a roadblock. The three were all taken into custody a short time later. It was later discovered the haul from both of the combined robberies was just over $200.