Alex Arnez Jones Gets 21+ Years for Charlotte Armed Robberies

Five Charlotte-area businesses were terrorized in six days as Alex Arnez Jones, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia, stormed through the city brandishing a firearm and demanding cash and goods. Between November 17 and November 23, 2015, Jones executed a rapid-fire spree of armed robberies, targeting a Boost Mobile, a Fuel Mart, a Subway, Beautiful Hair Palace, and iBeauty — all at gunpoint. Each heist followed the same violent script: enter, threaten, steal.

On November 17, Jones hit three locations in one day. He walked into the Boost Mobile on Central Avenue, flashed a gun, and forced employees to hand over cash. He moved to the Fuel Mart on North Tryon Street and repeated the act. Later that evening, at the Subway on South Boulevard, he pointed his weapon directly at a female employee, threatening to shoot her if she didn’t comply. She obeyed, hands shaking, as Jones fled with what he could grab.

Four days later, Jones returned. He entered Beautiful Hair Palace on Central Avenue, again armed, and ordered the clerk to fill his backpack with merchandise and cash. When told the clerk couldn’t access the register, Jones snatched $220 from the employee’s wallet — cold, personal, and cruel. Then, on November 23, he walked into iBeauty on North Tryon Street posing as a customer. Minutes later, he pulled out the same firearm, pointed it at the owner, and demanded money and products. The act wasn’t just robbery — it was assault with a deadly weapon.

Jones pleaded guilty in August 2016 to five counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and one count of use and carry of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The firearm charge alone carried a mandatory minimum of seven years — stacked consecutively. Prosecutors didn’t blink. They demanded justice. The sentence: 262 months in federal prison — more than 21 years, no parole, no second chance.

U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney handed down the sentence in Charlotte, ordering Jones to serve his time in federal custody, followed by three years of supervised release. He also ordered $6,319 in restitution — a number that barely covers the trauma. Jones is currently in federal custody and will be assigned to a Bureau of Prisons facility. The investigation was led by the FBI Charlotte Division and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, a joint push that closed the case swiftly.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Randall prosecuted the case with the precision of a sniper. U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose, FBI Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong, and CMPD Chief Kerr Putney all stood behind the outcome. “Robbing multiple businesses at gunpoint in a matter of days shows a blatant disregard for human life,” said Rose. “This sentence sends a clear message: violent crime in the Western District of North Carolina will be met with maximum consequences.”