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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man was sentenced to prison today for a string of armed robberies, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Andrew Marquis Jackson, 33, of Charlotte, was ordered to serve 394 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Jackson was previously convicted at trial of three counts of Hobbs Act robbery; three counts of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery; two counts of possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and one count of possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Reid Davis, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents, trial evidence, and witness testimony, Jackson and his co-conspirators, Joshua Jon’tavious Blount and Messiah Lynn Blair, robbed at least three businesses in Charlotte at gunpoint. The first robbery occurred on January 24, 2023. The defendants entered a Dunkin Donuts located on Beatties Ford Road. Jackson approached the counter and demanded cash from the register. He then fired a shot into the ceiling. Blair jumped over the counter and searched the back office for money. Jackson held an employee at gunpoint while taking money from the registers. Blount was the getaway driver.

U.S. v. Jackson et al. – Armed Robbery at Dunkin Donuts

The second armed robbery occurred three days later, on January 27, 2023. Evidence presented at trial showed that Jackson entered a 7-Eleven located on Brookshire Blvd.

Upon entering the store, Jackson fired a shot into the ceiling with a handgun. He then pointed a gun at a store employee ordering him to hand over all the money in the register. Jackson took the money and ran out the store.  Blount was inside the store pretending to be a customer during the robbery.

U.S. v. Jackson et al. – Armed Robbery at 7-Eleven

The third robbery took place on February 1, 2023. Blount went into the Family Dollar store located on Beatties Ford Road store to survey the number of people present. Jackson and Blair then entered the store, armed with firearms. The men pointed their guns at the employee behind the counter and demanded money from the register and safe. The robbers proceeded to take all the cash from the registers before they fled the scene. 

U.S. v. Jackson et al. – Armed Robbery at Family Dollar

Jackson remains in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.