Terence Tyree, 19, of Greene County, Virginia, admitted today in federal court to carrying out a string of armed robberies and a violent home invasion that terrorized workers and residents across Albemarle and Greene counties. Appearing before the United States District Court in Charlottesville, Tyree pled guilty to two counts of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence—a charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison. Sentencing is set for April 12, 2017.
The string of crimes began in the early hours of June 9, 2016, when Tyree and two accomplices, all dressed in black and masked, stormed the Papa John’s Pizza on Seminole Trail in Greene County. Brandishing firearms, they threatened employees, demanded cash, and made off with money and an employee’s cell phone. Less than 10 days later, on June 17, Tyree returned to the same location with a co-defendant and robbed it again at gunpoint.
Tyree escalated the violence on June 27, 2016, when he and Kentavia Jones targeted the Domino’s Pizza on Towncenter Lane in Albemarle County. Surveillance and testimony show Tyree pointed his firearm directly at a worker while Jones collected cash and phones. The pattern repeated on July 7, when Tyree and another man hit the Domino’s on Ford Avenue in Greene County. After stealing cash, a co-defendant fired a single shot into the air after a witness shouted at them as they fled.
The most brutal episode came on July 18, 2016, when Tyree and two others launched a home invasion in Albemarle County. The victim, home alone, heard an explosion—later found to be a propane tank thrown through his glass door. Three masked men in black burst in, one holding a pistol. Ordered to face the wall, the man was beaten twice—once inside the home, once after being knocked to the floor—while the intruders ransacked his house.
But the assault wasn’t over. At gunpoint, the defendants forced the victim into the back seat of his own Lexus, parked in the garage. Tyree took the wheel. The group drove to a Wells Fargo ATM at Route 29 and Airport Road, demanding the victim withdraw cash. When a second man—luggage in hand, fresh from the airport—appeared in the parking lot, one of the co-defendants exited the vehicle, escalating the threat.
Tyree is the second defendant in the case to plead guilty in federal court. He was indicted alongside five others last year following a joint investigation into the spree of violent crimes. Acting U.S. Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle confirmed the prosecution’s case relied on surveillance footage, victim testimony, and Tyree’s own admissions during today’s hearing. The rampage across central Virginia ends, for Tyree, with a near-certain life behind bars.
Related Federal Cases
- Arthur Santiful Gets 59 Years for 10 Armed Robberies · Washington
- Henrico Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robberies · Virginia
- Henrico Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robberies · Virginia
- ‘Juvenile Carjackers on the Loose: 3 Charged with Armed Robberies’ · Maryland
- Scranton Man, Virginia Man Plead Guilty in Econo Lodge Armed Robbery · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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