Raleigh Man Sentenced to More Than 10 Years for Fiddle Stix Robbery

GREENVILLE, N.C. – A Raleigh man was sentenced today to 130 months’ imprisonment for robbing the Fiddle Stix Convenience Store located on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh and for illegally possessing a firearm in furtherance of his robbery.

According to court documents, Ramadhan Jaabir Justice, 25, was named in a three-count Indictment filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina on October 2, 2019.  The Indictment charged Hobbs Act Robbery, Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. On January 13, 2020, the defendant pled guilty to Hobbs Act Robbery and Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence.

 In the early morning hours on March 6, 2019, the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) responded to an armed robbery call at the Fiddle Stix Convenience Store located on Capital Boulevard.  Upon their arrival, RPD detectives met with the store clerk (victim) and learned that two individuals entered the store.  One male went to the restroom while the second male remained in the store area.  While both men were in the store, the victim exited the enclosed cash register area and proceeded to the restroom.  Upon the victim’s return to the enclosed cash register area, one of the individuals, later identified as Justice, lowered a black mask over his head, brandished a pistol, and prevented the victim from entering the secured enclosed area.

According to the victim, Justice and the second unknown individual asked where the money was kept, and he told them.  The victim was forced into the back office and was told to sit on the floor in the corner of the back office until Justice and his partner left the store.  A review of the surveillance footage confirmed that Justice possessed a handgun during the robbery.  An inventory of the money taken during the robbery confirmed that $3,291.00 was taken from the store.

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel W. Smith  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:19-cr-00406-H.

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