Defendant Sentenced for String of Armed Robberies

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Byron Clay Scott, a 33-year-old man from Forsyth County, North Carolina, has been sentenced to a total of 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to a string of armed robberies in Forsyth, Guilford, Alamance, and Rockingham Counties.

As reported by the Grimy Times, Scott was sentenced to 240 months imprisonment for the robberies plus 3 years of post-release supervision by the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Scott was also sentenced to 24 months to run consecutive to that sentence for committing the robberies while he was on post-release supervision for another armed robbery out of Forsyth County from 2013.

According to court records, between November 2023 and January 2024, Scott and one or more unknown individuals committed at least 10 armed robberies of Dollar General and Family Dollar Stores in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Burlington, and Reidsville. Video surveillance obtained from each of the stores showed the robbers wearing Halloween style face masks, gloves, and dark clothing. All but one of the robberies occurred at night, near closing time.

Scott was arrested on January 15, 2024, by the Winston-Salem Police Department after they responded to a call for a robbery in progress. When they searched the vehicle Scott was driving, they found copies of his birth certificate and Social Security card, along with gloves and masks in the back seat, which were consistent with the gloves and masks worn during each of the robberies. Data obtained from electronic tracking on the vehicle Scott was driving and review of Scott’s search history on his phone tied him to each of the robberies.

Scott pleaded guilty on January 6, 2025, to five counts of interference with commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). The case was investigated by the Winston-Salem Police Department, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the Greensboro Police Department, the Burlington Police Department, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Piedmont Safe Streets Task Force.

The case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to combat violent crime. The FBI’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative, established in 1992, brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to reduce violent crime. This initiative has successfully aligned investigators and prosecutors to obtain prosecutions on violations such as racketeering, drug conspiracy, and firearms violations.

In addition to his prison sentence, Scott was ordered to pay $21,005.38 in restitution and to forfeit a 9mm handgun. The sentence brings closure to the victims of the armed robberies and serves as a warning to others who would engage in similar crimes.

Assistant United States Attorney Tracy M. Williams-Durham prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the agencies mentioned above.

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