Quinton L. Pete, Armed Robbery, Florida 2022

Pensacola, Florida – A federal jury in Pensacola found Quinton L. Pete, 34, of Ocala, Florida, guilty of Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The guilty verdict was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

On March 9, 2022, two employees at Coyote’s Sports Bar, next to Cordova Mall in Pensacola, were shot at point blank range by Pete during an attempted robbery of the business. The victims were unable to identify the shooter at the time due to their wounds, but they provided a general description to law enforcement.

Law enforcement obtained surveillance videos from surrounding businesses and identified a white Jeep Grand Cherokee in the area at the time of the crime. Pete was apprehended the next day in Dallas, Texas, driving a matching white Jeep Grand Cherokee registered to him. Pete was in possession of the firearm used in the commission of the robbery, as later identified by ballistics comparison. Pete’s phone location also placed him in the area at the time he committed the crime.

Pete has prior felony convictions for Burglary of a Dwelling with a Firearm, Grand Theft, and Shooting at within or into a Dwelling, and was released from prison only seven months prior to these offenses.

Sentencing in the case is set for October 26, 2023, at 1:00 p.m., at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge T.K. Wetherell. Pete faces a maximum of 30 years imprisonment.

The conviction was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pensacola Police Department, Department of Homeland Security, Grand Prairie Police Department in Dallas, Texas, the United States Marshals, and the Office of the State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit. Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. As part of its PSN strategy, the United States Attorney’s Office is encouraging everyone to lock their car doors, particularly at night, to prevent burglaries from unlocked automobiles.

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