Press Release
Judge sentences St. Louis man to 15 years in prison for robbing Papa John’s and Subway at gunpoint
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri
ST. LOUIS, MO –Braylon Roberts, 23, of St. Louis, MO, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in robbing Subway and Papa John’s and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of robbery. Roberts appeared in federal court today before United States District Judge John R. Ross.
According to court documents, on August 16, 2018, Roberts and co-defendant Terrance Cole entered the Subway restaurant located on Lewis and Clark Boulevard in Jennings, Missouri. Roberts displayed a handgun. Cole, who was carrying a backpack, walked to the cash register and directed a Subway employee to give him the money in the cash drawer. Upon entering the Subway, Roberts displayed a firearm and knocked a patron to the ground, causing injury to that victim. Roberts then followed Cole to the counter and pointed his firearm directly at the employee. The employee complied with the demand to give Cole money. Cole placed the money in the backpack, after which time Roberts and Cole left the Subway.
On August 18, 2018, Roberts and Cole entered a Papa Johns restaurant located on N. Tucker Boulevard in the City of St. Louis, Missouri. Roberts displayed a handgun as he entered the Papa Johns and ordered all of the patrons to the floor, dragging one of the patrons along the floor. Cole, carrying a backpack, approached the Papa Johns employee at the cash register and demanded money from the employee. The employee gave Cole the money from the cash drawer and he placed the money in the back pack.
When Roberts and Cole left the Papa Johns following the robbery, they entered a gold Nissan Maxima and departed the scene. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (“SLMPD”) Real Time Crime Center was able to review surveillance video of the area surrounding the Papa Johns and capture a photo of the vehicle, including the license plate. On Sunday, August 19, 2019, SLMPD officers spotted the vehicle and stopped it for further investigation. The driver of the vehicle was the sister of Braylon Roberts. A consent search of the vehicle revealed Braylon Roberts’s identification card in the vehicle. Roberts was one of the perpetrators in the surveillance video of the Papa John’s robbery.
Co-defendant Terrance Cole was sentenced in February to 68 months in prison.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Behrens prosecuted this case.
Contact
Venton Blandin
venton.blandin@usdoj.gov
314-539-6805
Updated September 24, 2020
Topic
Violent Crime
Component