Serial robber sentenced for role as organizer in commercial armed robbery spree spanning five counties

ATLANTA - Kesia Quinette Jackson has been sentenced for her role as an organizer in an armed robbery spree that spanned five counties, and target seven Wal-Mart Stores. 

“Jackson led a robbery crew that terrorized business employees, shoppers, and citizens during a crime spree,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Jackson and her crew calculated their robberies and helped drive violence and fear in multiple counties.  The defendant’s conviction and lengthy sentence resulted from the collaboration of multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies determined to apprehend and aggressively prosecute every member of this robbery crew.”

"For nearly two years Jackson led a robbing crew that rained terror on innocent victims, who just by chance, were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta. “The FBI, working together with several local law enforcement agencies and the US Attorney’s Office have put an end to their reign of terror so that the victims can take solace in the fact they won’t be able to traumatize any more innocent people.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court:  Between February 3, 2014, and October 26, 2015, Kesia Quinette Jackson, along with others committed 11 armed robberies throughout the metro-Atlanta area.  Jackson was the organizer of the robberies.  Seven of the robberies targeted Wal-Mart Stores.

Jackson and her co-defendants researched store locations in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Clayton and Forsyth Counties, and then surveilled the businesses before and during the robberies, usually between 10:00 pm and midnight. Jackson was captured on surveillance video prior to the robberies while she talked on her cell phone and cased the locations. During each robbery, co-defendant Deanthony Foster was also captured on video surveillance entering the stores wearing a surgical mask, brandishing a firearm, and proceeded to force store employees to empty their cash registers. During the final robbery, Foster fired a shot near store employees when they failed to immediately give him cash.  

In addition to the Wal-Mart store robberies, Jackson also targeted gas stations and convenience stores.  On February 3, 2014, Jackson and her crew robbed a gas station in Gwinnett County. Jackson was inside the business casing the establishment immediately prior to the armed robbery. Within 24 hours after the robbery, proceeds from the robbery were deposited into Jackson’s personal bank account. On June 2, 2014, Jackson and her crew robbed another gas station in DeKalb County, during which a co-defendant shot an employee in the leg. Like the other robberies, Jackson entered the business and cased the business immediately before the robbery.

Jackson’s sentence also involves conduct related to her role in three gas station armed robberies, one on August 27, 2015, one on September 21, 2015, and the third on October 26, 2015, in Cobb and DeKalb counties. During one of the robberies a co-defendant shot a victim employee.   

Kesia Quinette Jackson, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to 21 years, three months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $62,315.95.  Jackson pleaded guilty on November 10, 2016.

Co-defendants Deanthony Foster and Eric Lamar Ross were previously sentenced for their respective roles in the robberies.  Foster, a gunman, received a sentence of 32 years in prison. Ross, who acted as a lookout during two of the robberies, received a sentence of five years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the following law enforcement agencies: Cobb County Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Gwinnett County Police Department, Hapeville Police Department, Roswell Police Department, Riverdale Police Department, Dunwoody Police Department, and the Forsyth County Sherriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine M. Hoffer and Jessica C. Morris prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.