Michael Massey, Home Invasion Robbery, Tennessee 2024

Two Tennessee Men Sentenced for Home Invasion Robbery

Two men from Tennessee, Michael Massey and Demario Winston, have been sentenced to 28 years in prison for their roles in a home invasion robbery that resulted in a killing, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell and U.S. Attorney David Rivera of the Middle District of Tennessee.

On May 7, 2011, Massey, Winston and others attempted to rob a home in Clarksville, Tennessee. The conspirators had been advised that a large amount of cocaine and cash was stored inside a safe in the basement of the home. Massey used a sledge hammer to gain entry into the home.

The defendants admitted that, while inside the home, Winston, armed with a 9mm pistol, engaged in a gun fight with the homeowner on the first floor. Winston also pistol-whipped one of the occupants, Raul Triana, in the face in the process. In response to the shooting on the first floor, some of the conspirators fled the home, and Massey, armed with an assault rifle, fled through the basement where he encountered Triana and shot and killed him.

Massey also pleaded guilty to a separate count of Hobbs Act Robbery, and was ordered to pay $17,000 in restitution. In addition, Massey admitted that, on Oct. 21, 2011, he and a co-defendant planned the robbery of the owner of a Clarksville-based construction company. Massey, together with two others, executed the robbery at gunpoint.

This case was investigated by the Clarksville Police Department and the DEA. The case was prosecuted by Laura Gwinn of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynne T. Ingram of the Middle District of Tennessee.

Massey, 26, of Lexington, Tennessee, and Winston, 27, of Clarksville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty on May 29, 2015, before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Kevin H. Sharp of the Middle District of Tennessee to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery and use of a firearm in a crime of violence resulting in death.

The sentences handed down to Massey and Winston mark a significant milestone in the fight against violent crime in Tennessee. The case serves as a reminder of the consequences of engaging in such violent and illegal activities.

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