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Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to 31 Years in Prison for Armed Robbery Spree
A former Penn Hills resident has been sentenced in federal court to 31 years’ imprisonment followed by five years’ supervised release on his conviction of firearms charges, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Reggie B. Walton imposed the sentence on George Wilson, III, age 39. The Court also ordered Wilson to pay $3,027 in restitution.
According to information presented to the court, Wilson committed a series of armed robberies of retail businesses and gas station convenience stores throughout the Pittsburgh area from November 2014 through December 2014. Wilson committed each of the robberies at gunpoint and callously shot a store employee during the attempted robbery of The Exchange store in Ross Township.
Wilson pleaded guilty only after the government had presented its case to a jury.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Walton acknowledged the audacity of Wilson’s gunpoint robberies and referred to the video footage of Wilson shooting a store employee simply because he was new to the job and unable to open the cash register as “one of the most shocking things I have ever seen.”
Assistant United States Attorneys Heidi M. Grogan and James R. Wilson prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Pittsburgh Police Department, the Penn Hills Police Department, the Monroeville Police Department, the Ross Township Police Department, and the Wilkins Township Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Wilson.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The defendant, George Wilson, III, is a 39-year-old former resident of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania. He was convicted of firearms charges and sentenced to 31 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. The court also ordered Wilson to pay $3,027 in restitution.
The Pittsburgh area was plagued by a series of armed robberies in 2014, with multiple retail businesses and gas station convenience stores targeted by Wilson. The robberies were committed at gunpoint, and one store employee was shot during the attempted robbery of The Exchange store in Ross Township.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Heidi M. Grogan and James R. Wilson, and was commended by United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung.
The investigation into Wilson’s crimes was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Pittsburgh Police Department, the Penn Hills Police Department, the Monroeville Police Department, the Ross Township Police Department, and the Wilkins Township Police Department.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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