Rocky Mount Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Armed Robbery

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Rocky Mount man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for robbing a convenience store at gunpoint.  On May 6, 2020, Irvin Fields pled guilty to Count 1 of the Indictment, which charged Interference With Commerce by Robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Fields, 42, robbed the West Mount Food Mart in Rocky Mount on May 10, 2016.  After entering the store, Fields brandished a large revolver and pressed it into the side of the lone store clerk.  Fields demanded money and threatened to “pop” the victim clerk.  Fields fled with $478 cash from the register.  The store clerk called 911 and law enforcement quickly located Fields’ vehicle at a nearby intersection and observed the firearm being thrown from the vehicle.  The victim clerk positively identified Fields.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Nash County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charity Wilson and Bryan Stephany  prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina implements the PSN Program through its Take Back North Carolina Initiative.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-CR-00155-FL.