Raleigh, North Carolina – A Kinston man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a string of robberies across North Carolina.
James Earl Sutton, 55, was sentenced to 108 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release by Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III yesterday in federal court.
Sutton was named in an Indictment filed on February 28, 2017, along with two other individuals, alleging conspiracy to commit robbery and subsequent counts.
He subsequently pled guilty to two counts in the Indictment, Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The investigation began in August 2015, after a robbery occurred at the U.S. Cellular Store in Beulaville, North Carolina. Additional robberies occurred in Kinston, Pink Hill, Faison, Kenansville, and Snow Hill, North Carolina.
Law Enforcement identified Sutton and co-defendants and associates Keenan Drake, Charles Nobles, and Kindra Arnold as suspects in these robberies.
This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified ‘team effort’ against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.
The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office, the Kenansville Police Department, the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office, the Kinston Police Department, the Snow Hill Police Department, the New Bern Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the criminal investigation of this case.
Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette handled the prosecution of this case for the government.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant/Respondent: James Earl Sutton
Criminal Charges: Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence
City and State: Kinston, North Carolina
Date: February 28, 2017 (Indictment), January 11, 2024 (sentencing)
Sentence or Outcome: 108 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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