Armed Robber Pleads Guilty

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Patrick D. Cummings (44, Pinellas County) has pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on the robbery charge, followed by a mandatory minimum consecutive prison term of seven years, up to life, on the firearm charge.

According to court documents, at approximately 4:09 a.m., on March 24, 2017, Cummings entered a Walgreens pharmacy in St. Petersburg, pressed a handgun against a cashier, and demanded all of the money from her register. Cummings repeatedly threatened to shoot the cashier. He then stole approximately $374 and ran away.

This case was investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, as part of the St. Petersburg Violent Crime Reduction Initiative. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, along with Daryl McCrary, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, are coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.