Jacksonville Robber Pleads Guilty To Armed Spree

TYLER, Texas – A 22-year-old Jacksonville native named Jonathan Roshard Brown has entered a guilty plea in the Eastern District of Texas for his involvement in a violent crime spree that struck local businesses, according to U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.

Brown, aged 22 from Jacksonville, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell to interfering with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act conspiracy) and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. The spree involved four armed robberies in Jacksonville between October 2011 and November 2012.

In the first incident, on Oct. 2, 2011, Brown and two others made off with $9,465 from a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Later, on Nov. 2, 2012, Brown robbed the Razorback Grocery, demanding $16,000 in cash and $6,900 in lottery tickets.

On Nov. 16, 2012, during a robbery at the Austin Bank, Brown fired a handgun, critically wounding the victim who survived after being airlifted to Tyler hospital. The spree concluded with an attempted robbery on the Fast Fuel owner, whom Brown was unable to rob after a struggle.

Brown faces up to 20 years for Hobbs Act violation and at least 10 more for the firearms charge. Sentencing is pending. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, targeting gun violence in Eastern District of Texas.

This investigation was led by the FBI East Texas Gang Initiative, with assistance from the Jacksonville Police Department and Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Moore is prosecuting the case.

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