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Press Release

Newport News Man Pleads To Robbery Of Shell Station

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Prince J. Bell, 27, of Newport News, Va., pleaded guilty today to robbery and possession of a firearm related to the robbery of a Shell Gas Station in Newport News.

            Neil H. MacBride, U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Interim Newport News Police Chief Joe Moore made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Raymond A. Jackson.

            Bell was charged in a criminal complaint on March 8, 2013, with robbery and later indicted, on April 10, 2013, with robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Bell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the robbery charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years on the firearm charge when he is sentenced on December 4, 2013.

            In a statement of facts filed during the plea hearing, Bell admitted to robbing the Shell Gas Station located at 4900 Jefferson Avenue in Newport News on January 6, 2013. During the robbery Bell brandished and pointed a firearm at a store employee and demanded money.

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Newport News Police Department Safe Streets Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorneys Howard J. Zlotnick and Robert E. Bradenham, II are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Updated March 18, 2015