Charlotte Man Is Sentenced To Prison For Robbing A Convenience Store At Gunpoint

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Jonah Terrell Bryant, 29, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for the armed robbery of a local convenience store, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement.

According to court documents and information presented at court hearings, on August 18, 2022, at approximately 6:19 a.m., CMPD officers were dispatched to an armed robbery call at the Circle K convenience store located at 10000 N. Tryon Street, in Charlotte. The store clerk had called 911 to report the crime. When CMPD officers arrived at the scene, they spoke with the store clerk who said that the robber had walked up to the counter and asked to buy a cigar. When the store clerk put the cigar on the counter and rang up the sale, the robber pointed a firearm at the clerk and demanded money. The store clerk told the robber that he didn't have access to the safe. The robber then ordered the store clerk to open the drawer and proceeded to come around the counter and grab the money that was in the register.

According to filed court documents, during the investigation, law enforcement used video surveillance footage to identify Bryant's white Dodge Charger and a fingerprint recovered from the scene to determine the robber's identity. CMPD officers arrested Bryant on August 26, 2022, while he was driving the white Dodge Charger. In the front center console of the vehicle, law enforcement found a black 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a round in the chamber and rounds in the attached magazine.

On October 26, 2023, Bryant pleaded guilty to possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Bryant is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

The FBI and CMPD investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.