A Charlotte resident has been sentenced to over 32 years in federal prison for a series of armed robberies that took place in early 2023, according to an announcement by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Andrew Marquis Jackson, age 33, received a sentence of 394 months in prison and five years of supervised release. A jury previously convicted Jackson on multiple charges, including three counts each of Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. He was also found guilty on two counts of possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during crimes of violence, as well as one count of possessing and brandishing a firearm during another violent crime.
The investigation involved the FBI’s North Carolina office and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). Reid Davis, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in North Carolina, and CMPD Chief Estella D. Patterson joined U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the sentencing announcement.
Court records and trial testimony showed that Jackson worked with co-conspirators Joshua Jon’tavious Blount and Messiah Lynn Blair to rob at least three businesses at gunpoint. The first incident occurred on January 24, 2023 at a Dunkin Donuts on Beatties Ford Road. According to authorities: “Jackson approached the counter and demanded cash from the register. He then fired a shot into the ceiling. Blair jumped over the counter and searched the back office for money. Jackson held an employee at gunpoint while taking money from the registers. Blount was the getaway driver.”
Three days later, Jackson robbed a 7-Eleven store located on Brookshire Blvd: “Upon entering the store, Jackson fired a shot into the ceiling with a handgun. He then pointed a gun at a store employee ordering him to hand over all the money in the register. Jackson took the money and ran out the store. Blount was inside the store pretending to be a customer during the robbery.”
On February 1, 2023, they targeted a Family Dollar store also on Beatties Ford Road: “Blount went into the Family Dollar store located on Beatties Ford Road store to survey the number of people present. Jackson and Blair then entered the store, armed with firearms. The men pointed their guns at the employee behind the counter and demanded money from the register and safe. The robbers proceeded to take all the cash from the registers before they fled the scene.”
Jackson is currently held in federal custody awaiting transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson expressed appreciation for both agencies’ work: “In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of the case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly prosecuted this case.
