Lorenzo Roscoe, Armed Convenience Store Robbery, Virginia 2023

State: Virginia
Category: Violent Crime
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/armed-robber-sentenced-prison-multiple-tidewater-robberies" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

In a string of brazen robberies, Lorenzo Roscoe, a 30-year-old Portsmouth man, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for committing five armed robberies of convenience stores in Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Chesapeake.

The convictions followed an investigation by a multi-agency team, including the Portsmouth Police, Chesapeake Police, and the FBI’s Tidewater Violent Crime Task Force.

According to court documents, Roscoe would enter the stores wearing a disguise and brandishing a firearm while demanding money and cartons of Newport cigarettes. After his vehicle was identified on surveillance video, law enforcement set up surveillance on Roscoe’s vehicle and followed him as he drove to another Dollar General store.

As Roscoe was about to enter the store, the police apprehended him and found a firearm in a bag he carried with him to all the robberies.

U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger praised the efforts of law enforcement, saying, “Violent criminals, especially those carrying firearms, represent a serious danger to our communities.”

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and making neighborhoods safer for everyone. The program was reinvigorated in 2017 by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William D. Muhr prosecuted the case, and Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith handed down the sentence.

Roscoe’s sentencing is a significant blow to violent crime in the Tidewater region, and law enforcement officials are vowing to continue their efforts to keep communities safe.

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