A 41-year-old North Little Rock man will spend 28 years in prison for a series of six holdups across Pulaski County that included a bank robbery that netted him $60 in change.
On two occasions, Lynn Luster Davis struck twice on the same day.
He told authorities he needed the money for his crack cocaine habit, saying that his dependence on drugs repeatedly forced him back into a life of crime.
Davis pleaded guilty to six counts of aggravated robbery in exchange for the no-parole sentence, according to sentencing papers filed Thursday by deputy prosecutor Christy Bjornson.
She reported that Davis used essentially the same tactic in each holdup, claiming that he had a gun and would shoot victims if they resisted him, moved too slowly or didn't give him money.
The plea agreement, negotiated by defense attorney Joey Joslin, saved Davis from having to stand trial, where Davis would face an automatic life sentence if convicted because he has previous robbery convictions.
Four of the holdups occurred over a four-day span in May 2018. Luster surrendered to police in October after robbing a Little Rock bank and a North Little Rock convenience store on the same day, court filings show.
His first robbery occurred May 13, 2018, at the Dollar General, 4613 John F. Kennedy Blvd. in North Little Rock, where he made off with an undisclosed amount from store clerk Hezekiah Modica, 20.
Two days later he struck at the Sherwood Walmart where he threatened store clerk Jesse Thomas, who had tried to stop him from stealing a 30-pack of beer. The following day, May 16, 2018, Davis held up two Family Dollar stores in a seven-hour period, first robbing clerk Nicoshe James, 31, at the store at 4149 E. Broadway, then robbing Marce Phillips, a 42-year-old clerk, at the 715 E. Broadway location.
The next two robberies were on Oct. 30; the first occurred when Davis used a note to demand cash at the Simmons Bank branch at 425 W. Capitol Ave. in Little Rock. Bank teller Michael Martin, 35, only gave him $60 in change. He also struck at the AGC Food Mart in North Little Rock, where he collected $490 from clerk Nicole Stewart, court filings show.
He surrendered to police shortly before midnight that day after learning authorities were looking for him. He has been jailed since.
Davis' first robbery conviction came for a shoplifting-turned-holdup at a North Little Rock Harvest Food supermarket on East Broadway when he was 26, court files show.
Grocery workers in January 2005 confronted him as he left the store with merchandise hidden under his coat, but they let him go when he told them he had a gun. Police found and arrested him on Dixie Street with some of the stolen goods. He pleaded guilty to robbery two months later in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence.
He was paroled in April 2007, but six months later robbed the Tobacco Park, 4321 E. Broadway in North Little Rock, at gunpoint, stealing two cartons of cigarettes and some cash.
Davis, who was homeless at the time, surrendered to police three days after that holdup. He pleaded guilty in August 2008 to aggravated robbery in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence. He was paroled again in August 2014 and finished his sentence in November 2017.
Metro on 06/25/2019