HOUSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Texas, Southern), published as received.
HOUSTON – A 43 year-old Houston resident has been sent to prison for robbery of a Family Dollar store, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Robert Trussell pleaded guilty Aug. 10.
Today, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered Trussell to serve 121 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court found Trussell to be a career offender due to his convictions for three previous robberies.
At the time of his plea, Trussell admitted to committing the robbery of a Family Dollar store on Aug. 30, 2019. He acted like a customer before he passed the victim a threatening note demanding money. The victim recalled Trussell showing her a firearm in his waistband.
Authorities identified his vehicle and conducted a traffic stop and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement found a firearm on the passenger in the vehicle Trussell was driving.
Trussell has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Houston Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Winter prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
