Joe E. Clinton, Armed Robberies, Florida 2014

Joe E. Clinton Jr., 23, of Orlando, Florida, has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for his role in a series of armed robberies in Central Florida.

According to court documents, on the night of September 2, 2013, Clinton and his co-conspirator, Jacques Maddox, went to the Walgreen’s store on South Kirkman Road near Universal Studios in Orlando. Clinton demanded that the manager open the store’s safe, threatening to shoot him if he failed to do so. When the manager refused, Clinton pistol-whipped him, striking him several times in the head and shoulders.

Clinton then ran out of the office, met up with Maddox in the middle of the store, and pulled his gun on other employees and store customers as he and Maddox fled the scene. On the night of September 10, 2013, Clinton walked into the CVS store located at 1201 East Colonial Drive in Orlando and demanded that the clerk open the register. The clerk gave Clinton all of the cash from the register; he then fled from the store.

Clinton admitted to committing a series of additional armed commercial robberies in Central Florida before being captured by police in Dothan, Alabama, on October 1, 2013. On July 9, 2014, a federal jury found Maddox guilty of aiding and abetting the attempted Walgreen’s robbery. He was subsequently sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Orlando Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Schuster.

Clinton pleaded guilty to the charges on March 24, 2014. He was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge John Antoon, II.

The sentencing marks the end of a long and violent crime spree that terrorized the citizens of Central Florida. The Grimy Times condemns such crimes and hopes that this sentence will bring closure to the victims and their families.

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