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Press Release

Man Convicted for Jewelry Store Robberies

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina

Contact Person: Nathan Williams (843) 727-4381

Columbia, South Carolina ---- Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Charles Eloys Johnson, 35, of San Leandro, California, was convicted following a four day jury trial in United States District Court in Charleston.  The Honorable Richard M. Gergel presided over the case.

Testimony developed during trial showed that Johnson and others travelled from Atlanta to rob Sylvan Jewelers in Columbia, SC, on February 19, 2015, and MP Demetre Jewelers in Charleston, SC, on March 4, 2015.  Johnson was convicted of five separate counts, one count of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery Affecting Interstate Commerce, two counts of Robbery Affecting Interstate Commerce, and two counts of Brandishing a Firearm During a Violent Crime.  The conspiracy and robbery counts each carry up to twenty years imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a) and the gun charges carry a mandatory consecutive five years plus twenty-five years imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).  Two other defendants  are still awaiting trial. 

The conviction is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, City of Charleston Police Department and Columbia Police Department.  Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake and Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Williams prosecuted the case. 

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Updated June 21, 2016