Whitfield Leland III, Armed Robbery, Florida 2024
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Whitfield Leland III, 45, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for Hobbs Act Robbery, Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, and being an Armed Career Criminal in Possession of a Firearm.
The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
On May 20, 2024, Leland robbed a Tallahassee Dollar General at gunpoint, pointing a pistol at the store manager and demanding that the manager open the safes. A customer observed the robbery in progress and called 911.
Officers from the Tallahassee Police Department responded within minutes and surrounded the store while Leland was still inside. Leland then stole the manager’s Dollar General shirt and exited the store pretending to be an employee.
Leland made it outside the store in his disguise but kept running when ordered to stop. Officers chased Leland and were able to follow a trail of dropped money to where he was hiding in nearby bushes, still wearing the Dollar General shirt and with additional money stuffed into his pants.
Leland is a 13-time convicted felon who qualified as an Armed Career Criminal because he had convictions for three violent felonies committed on separate occasions: two separate incidents of resisting a law enforcement officer with violence and one conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Leland was a 2022 candidate for Tallahassee mayor.
The case involved an investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain prosecuted the case.
Leland received a sentence of 22 years in prison, which will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Leland was also ordered to pay restitution of $689.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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