RICHMOND, Va. – Three men were sentenced, one to life in prison, for their roles in a series of armed robberies in Virginia and North Carolina, including a 2005 robbery that resulted in the fatal shooting of a Richmond convenience store clerk.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Attorney General; and J.D. Newman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement.

William Langley, Jr., 36, of Rocky Mount, N.C., was sentenced to life in prison; and Stephen White, 28, of Hampton, Va., was sentenced to 40 years by United States District Judge Robert E. Payne for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, use and discharge of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence causing the death of another, and aiding and abetting. 

            Another conspirator, Vance Hamm, 35, of Rocky Mount, N.C., was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery.

            Langley, White and Anthony Jenkins planned and executed the robbery of the Uppy’s Exxon Convenience store located at 5024 Brook Road in Richmond in 2005.  After Langley decided to rob the store, White and Jenkins entered the store. White admitted to shooting the clerk, Robert Rush, after demanding and receiving money.  Rush died at the scene.  Jenkins was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the robbery.

            According to court documents, Langley, White and Hamm committed numerous robberies in Virginia and North Carolina from 2004 through 2008.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the City of Richmond Police Department, the Chesterfield County Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Mike Jagels of the Virginia Attorney General’s Office Special Prosecutions and Organized Crime Section and Assistant United States Attorney Mike Gill are prosecuted 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 http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

 

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