NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Chesapeake man was sentenced on Wednesday to 29 years in prison for a 7-Eleven robbery spree in 2019, according to the United States Attorney's Office of Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court documents, 23-year-old Deric Simmons of Chesapeake, 22-year-old Ronald Lee Brookins Jr. of Suffolk and a third person began a series of armed robberies at 7-Eleven convenience stores just before midnight on July 24, 2019.
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The first store they robbed was in Newport News, where the three men entered with a firearm, knife and a BB gun resembling a real firearm and demanded money and other items from store employees. They then robbed four other convenience stores with similar tactics, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a release.
During the fifth and final robbery, Brookins and the third co-conspirator entered the 7-Eleven store while Simons stayed in the getaway vehicle. As Brookins emptied the register, an armed customer fired his personal weapon, injuring Brookins and killing the third co-conspirator.
Prosecutors declined to press charges against the man who shot the robbers.
According to Navy officials, Brookins had been in the Navy less than a year at the time of the robberies. He enlisted in December 2018 and was an airman recruit with the Navy Reserve Forces Command.
Brookins was sentenced in June to 25 years in prison for his role in the robberies.
Simmons received a 29-year prison sentence on Wednesday.