Defendant Sentenced to 1,097 Months for Committing Four Armed Robberies in Richmond

RICHMOND, VA—Eric Thompson, a/k/a Derick Cannon, 41, of Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced to 1,097 months’ imprisonment today in U.S. District Court for committing four armed robberies of commercial businesses located in the Richmond, Virginia area. He was also ordered to pay $1,359.37 in restitution. Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the defendant was sentenced by United States District Judge Liam O’Grady.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Thompson committed four armed robberies of Family Dollar Store locations in Richmond, Virginia:

3/9/2010 - Thompson robbed the Family Dollar store at

6401 Jahnke Road, Richmond, Virginia

, with a firearm and stole $207.37.

3/19/2010 - Thompson robbed the Family Dollar store at

1209 Westover Hills Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia

, with a firearm and stole $422.00.

3/24/2010 - Thompson robbed the Family Dollar store at

1220 North 25th Street, Richmond, Virginia

, with a firearm and stole $480.00.

3/26/2010 - Thompson robbed the Family Dollar store at

7 East 16th Street, Richmond, Virginia

, with a firearm and stole $250.00.

The jury convicted the defendant for committing all of these robberies, as well as of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of each robbery.

The jury also found Thompson guilty of unlawfully possessing a Hi-Point, Model 9C, 9mm semi-automatic pistol on March 26, 2010, after he had been previously convicted of a felony offense. The evidence on that count was that on the evening of March 26, 2010, Richmond Police officers attempted to arrest Thompson. As the officers approached Thompson, he ran. After a chase of several blocks, Thompson finally stopped. He then drew a loaded firearm from his waist area and wheeled on an officer who was pursuing him. The officer tackled Thompson, causing the firearm to fly out of his hands. While on the ground, Thompson began to crawl toward the firearm. When the officer grabbed one of his arms, Thompson reached for the firearm with his other arm. It took a second officer to subdue Thompson.

The investigation was conducted by the Richmond Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) under the Cooperative Violence Reduction Partnership (CVRP) Robbery Reduction Initiative. The CVRP is a law enforcement partnership involving the Richmond Police Department, the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, ATF, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia State Police, Virginia Adult Probation and Parole, District 1, the United States Marshal’s Service, The Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department, the Richmond Sheriff’s Office, the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office. The members of the CVRP work together to identify and address violent crime problems affecting the Richmond Community. The Robbery Reduction Initiative is a collaborative effort to address the robberies in the community and to make sure that offenders face the highest sentence possible under the law, whether that be in state or federal court. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Gill and Stephen Miller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.