greenville robber receives federal prison term
RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER BOYDEN, 22, to 300 months imprisonment followed by five years supervised release. The Court also ordered BOYDEN pay restitution in the amount of $1,509.41.
According to the Criminal Indictment returned on March 10, 2011, while carrying a short-barreled rifle, on September 25, 2010, BOYDEN along with co-defendant Perry Rashawn Wilkins, robbed the Landmark Pick-Up Grocery Store on East Fifth Street in Greenville, North Carolina, of approximately $600. The following day, BOYDEN, armed with a short-barreled shotgun and accompanied by Wilkins, robbed the Wilco-Hess Convenience Store on Highway 43 North in Greenville, North Carolina, of $760.
On September 6, 2011, BOYDEN pled guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951 and two counts of using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924.
On December 5, 2011, Wilkins was sentenced to 166 months imprisonment followed by five years supervised release. Wilkins previously pled guilty on May 31, 2011, to Hobbs Act Robbery and using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence or possession of a firearm in furtherance of the crime.
This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.
Investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Greenville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney John Bennett is serving as prosecution for the government.
