RALEIGH — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - North Carolina, Eastern), published as received.

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that today, ANTHONY TYRONE GREENE, 34, of Wilmington, was sentenced by United States Senior District Judge W. Earl Britt for possession of a firearm by felon.  Judge Britt sentenced GREENE to 78 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

GREENE was charged in a one-count indictment on February 15, 2018, and pleaded guilty on April 30, 2018. 

One June 10, 2017, a female employee of GoGas in Wilmington, North Carolina, had just locked up the gas station and was walking towards her vehicle.  GREENE approached her, pointed a gun in her face, and demanded her purse.  After she handed over her purse and bag, GREENE pushed her to the ground and fled.  

Shortly after the robbery, the Wilmington Police Department used a phone application to locate the victim’s stolen iPhone. Officers traced the phone to an apartment where GREENE lived.  After searching the residence, officers found the victim’s iPhone, wallet, identification, and other personal effects.  They also recovered a stolen, loaded 9mm Taurus handgun.

In 2008 GREENE pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to first-degree murder in the slaying of Lynn Rubei in Wilmington.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Wilmington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).  Assistant United States Attorney Erin Blondel handled the prosecution of this case for the government.