Three Columbus men pleaded guilty Monday in Lowndes County Circuit Court in connection to robbing local pizza delivery drivers at gunpoint in 2016.
Jeremy Rashad Knight, 18, received a 20-year sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for his guilty plea to armed robbery, with 10 years to serve and 10 suspended, District Attorney Scott Colom said. Knight also will serve five years post-release supervision.
Casimir Markario Poe, 17, will serve 20 years for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, while 19-year-old Tone Lamar Hill was sentenced to 10 years for being an accessory to armed robbery after the fact, Colom said. A fourth suspect, a juvenile who was 12 at the time of the incidents, is being processed through Lowndes County Youth Court.
All four suspects were arrested in December 2016 after at least three altercations with pizza delivery workers in successive days, starting with an attempted robbery of a Domino’s driver on East Manor Drive on Dec. 3.
The next day, the suspects robbed a Papa John’s driver at gunpoint on 18th Avenue North, taking a pizza, the driver’s cell phone and $38 cash. On Dec. 5, they held up another Domino’s driver at gunpoint on Forrest Lane, taking a pizza and $25 cash.
No one was injured in any of the altercations.
All suspects but Hill were under 18 at the time of their arrests. However, Mississippi law allows suspects 13 and older to be charged as adults for armed robbery.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.