St. Paul Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Armed Robbery of Convenience Store

Acting United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker today announced the guilty plea of MICKIAH LATRELL JACKSON, 32, for the January 2017 violent attempted armed robbery of a Super America gas station and convenience store in St. Paul, Minn. In May 2017, a grand jury returned a two-count Indictment, charging JACKSON with one count of interference with commerce by attempted robbery pursuant to the Hobbs Act, and with one count of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. JACKSON entered his guilty plea to both counts today before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.

“This is a perfect example of how intelligence solves crimes,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge James Modzelewski of the St. Paul Field Division. “Partly based on use of the ATF National Integrated Ballistic Information Network we were able to link different crime scenes together, ultimately leading us to Jackson. Getting this career offender behind bars is no doubt going to make the community a safer place. This was a great collaboration on the part of St. Paul Police, Metro Transit Police, the Ramey County Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and ATF. Our hats off to these professionals for pulling the pieces of this puzzle together.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, on January 7, 2017, JACKSON entered a Super America (“the SA”) gas station in St. Paul, Minn., pulled a semiautomatic firearm from his waistband and pointed it at the cashier while demanding money from the register. The cashier pushed the defendant’s gun away and struggled with the defendant for a few seconds before JACKSON aimed his firearm at the ground and discharged one round. JACKSON again pointed the gun at the cashier’s face and demanded money from the register. Another store employee quickly shut the bulletproof glass door of the cashier station and JACKSON fled the SA on foot empty-handed.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, on February 25, 2017, JACKSON again entered the SA, and the employee who slammed the glass door shut on the defendant during the attempted robbery recognized the defendant. After the employee notified an off-duty St. Paul Police Officer who was working at the SA, JACKSON was arrested. Upon execution of a search warrant of the defendant’s residence, law enforcement investigators recovered a black stocking cap and other items of clothing consistent with what the defendant was wearing in the SA surveillance video.

The case was the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Paul Police Department, and the Metro Transit Police, with assistance from the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.