The last of six men who were charged in 2013 with robbing at least 20 central Arkansas businesses, from restaurants to gas stations to an auto parts store, was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison.
Christopher Earnest Bell, 40, who was born and raised in Little Rock, was ordered to join the other five defendants in repaying a total of $31,353.05 in restitution to the 18 businesses that lost money as a result of the holdups.
The men, ranging in age from 20 to 45 at the time of their June 5, 2013, indictments, were prosecuted as a "robbery ring" after a spike in holdups in Little Rock prompted authorities in central Arkansas to seek the assistance of the FBI. Soon, federal agents discovered that the same six men, working in groups of two and three, also were responsible for robberies in Benton, Bryant, Sherwood, Lonoke and Carlisle.
"These men allegedly robbed restaurants, gas stations, and various businesses, generally late in evening," according to a news release issued by the FBI and Chris Thyer, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, after all the indicted men were arrested. Thyer said the decision to prosecute the men in federal court as a robbery conspiracy, rather than subjecting them to individual prosecutions in state court, was an effort to demonstrate law enforcement agencies' commitment to work together to solve violent crimes.
The robberies, in which a gun was either used or implied, occurred between June 2012 and February 2013. The losses to the businesses where money was taken ranged from $380 at the Shell Superstop in Benton to $6,107.25 from a Doublebee's in Lonoke.
A sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday by Assistant Federal Defender Chris Tarver said that Bell, who is separated from his wife, is the father of a daughter, Cierra, from that relationship, and a daughter, Bessie, and son, Christopher Jr., from previous relationships. Tarver indicated that Bell has grown up around violence, noting that his mother is disabled because of a robbery in which she was shot in the head, and that his sister was killed in 2010.
Bell didn't attend school "much" after the seventh grade and began accumulating felony convictions at age 16, mostly for being in possession of stolen vehicles, Tarver said. Bell began drinking alcohol at age 15, began smoking marijuana at age 27, and "acknowledges that he has a problem with drugs and knows that he needs to deal with that addiction," Tarver said.
Tarver asked that Bell be sentenced to a term of 55 months, or 4½ years, but U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes, considering Bell's individual circumstances as well as the sentences he has imposed on the other defendants in the case, settled on a term of 96 months, or eight years. Bell faced up to 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 for his guilty plea in March to a charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.
The other defendants, all of whom pleaded guilty, include Daniel Caple, 23, of Amity in Clark County, who is serving a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years because of strict federal sentences that apply when a gun is used during the commission of a crime; and Little Rock residents Justin Prince Pettis, 26, who is also serving eight years; Tony Bernard Smith, 31, who is serving 15 years; Antwann Deshawn Sockwell, 27, who is serving eight years; and Mike Dewayne Waller, 48, who is serving 12 years.
Other businesses that were robbed included Wendy's, Burger King, Citgo, Taco Bell, Little Caesars Pizza, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, McDonald's, Dollar General, Taco Bueno, Andy's Restaurant, Mabelvale Automotive, Bestway Rent-to-Own and Dodge Store.
Some businesses were robbed at more than one location.
Metro on 09/10/2016