Man Sentenced for 2010 Armed Robbery of Truck Stop

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to nearly 51 years in prison for his leadership role in the armed robbery of the Mr. Fuel truck stop in Ruther Glen on May 8, 2010.

According to court documents, in November 2008, Winston Sylvester Oliver II, 41, began planning the armed robbery of the Mr. Fuel truck stop located in Ruther Glen. As part of this planning phase, Oliver conducted physical surveillance of the location, devised getaway routes, identified surveillance cameras, and learned cash drop procedures of the business.

In approximately May 2010, Oliver recruited his co-conspirator, Warren Harold Brown, to execute the robbery of the location. On May 8, 2010, Oliver drove Brown to the area of the Mr. Fuel truck stop, provided him with a firearm, and instructed him how to commit the robbery. Brown entered into the business and demanded money from the cashier. Due to the cashier’s inability to open the register, Brown fired a single warning shot in the direction of the cashier. Following Brown’s discharge of the firearm, a concerned citizen attempted to thwart the robbery by striking Brown in the head with beer bottles from the store refrigerator.  In response, Brown shot the concerned citizen four times, including in the head, groin, thigh, and buttocks. Oliver and Brown then fled the scene.  The concerned citizen survived the shooting.      

On Sept. 14, 2011, a federal jury convicted Oliver and Brown on all counts after a two-day trial. On January 19, 2012, Oliver was sentenced to 630 months in prison. Based on a subsequent legal ruling in United States v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319 (2019), the district court dismissed a single count of the defendants’ superseding indictment and ordered a re-sentencing on Nov. 14, 2019.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and David W. Archey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, Tony Lippa, Jr., Caroline County Sheriff, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:11-cr-63.