ROCKY MOUNT — A city man will spend seven years in federal prison for knocking over a liquor store.

Jesse Lamont Jenkins, 30, has been sentenced to 92 months in prison for his role in an armed robbery of an ABC Store on Westwood Drive in Rocky Mount. He pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery on Dec. 14.

“Hardworking people should never be threatened at gunpoint for simply doing their jobs,” said Mike Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “We are committed to keeping Rocky Mount a safe place to work and raise a family — and we will keep partnering with local law enforcement to take violent career criminals off the streets of eastern North Carolina.” 

On Aug. 10, 2019, Jenkins and Eric Montrell Mobley entered the store brandishing firearms demanding money and threatening to “smoke” the employees if they didn’t comply. Jenkins and Mobley took $3,316.72 and fled the store, according to court documents and other information presented in U.S. District Court. 

Jenkins and Mobley were later arrested. Mobley is scheduled for sentencing in July.

U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced Jenkins.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rocky Mount Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane J. Jackson prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. The evidence-based program is proven to be effective at reducing violent crime via a broad spectrum of stakeholders working together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them, according to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.