Savannah man sentenced to federal prison for violent armed robbery that left Samaritan soldier wounded

 Co-defendant currently serving 10-year prison term

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Savannah man who participated in the March 2019 robbery of a bar during which a U.S. Army serviceman was wounded has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison.

Justin Alexander Campbell, 21, was sentenced to 121 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood after pleading guilty to Interference with Commerce by Robbery, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Campbell also must serve three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Campbell’s co-defendant in the robbery, Anthony Curtis Raife, 24, of Savannah, is serving a 120-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to Possessing a Short-Barreled Shotgun in Furtherance of a Violent Crime. The two also are required to pay $35,523.83 in restitution to the victims in the case.

“This violent robbery by two criminals forever changed the lives of several victims, including the badly wounded soldier and the innocent business owners, and patrons,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Justin Campbell and Anthony Raife are justly locked away for their well-deserved punishment, and for our community’s protection.” 

According to court documents and testimony, Campbell and Raife entered the rear door of Brewer’s Sports Pub and Grill on Ogeechee Road on March 24, 2019. Both carried firearms and pointed the weapons at patrons and threatened them during the robbery. One of the customers, an active-duty U.S. Army serviceman, witnessed the robbery and helped other patrons escape. The soldier then went unarmed to the rear of the bar and was shot after he punched Raife in the face. Both robbers then fled. The soldier was treated for a bullet wound to the chest and has since recovered.

Raife was located and arrested in Savannah in September 2019, while Campbell was taken into custody in Virginia and returned to Georgia for prosecution in March 2020.

“This sentence completes the judicial process for two men who left permanent scars, both physical and mental, on several innocent victims, including a heroic soldier,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The victims will never fully overcome the trauma those scars remind them of, but hopefully the fact that these two criminals can’t harm them or any others for a long time, brings them some sort of comfort.”

“This is a powerful example of the determination and professionalism that our officers and detectives bring to every crime investigation,” said Chatham County Police Chief Jeffrey M. Hadley. “They followed every lead and did not rest until the two perpetrators were behind bars, and the victims and community had some resolution in this case.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Chatham County Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Petersburg (VA) Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.