Tampa Pawnshop Robber Sentenced To 25 Years In Federal Prison

TAMPA, FL — A Tampa man was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison Friday for the armed robbery of a Tampa pawnshop.

U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentenced Terry Alonzo Wilson, 53, to federal prison for planning and carrying out the armed robbery June 18 with Jeremy Williams, 35, of Miami.

The court ordered Wilson to forfeit $63,543, which includes the $61,943 in jewelry and $1,600 in cash that Wilson and Williams stole.

On June 18, 2019, a jury found Wilson guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, brandishing a firearm during a robbery and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial and the sentencing hearing, Wilson recruited Williams to rob the Value Pawn & Jewelry at 5401 N. 40th St. in Tampa Sept. 14, 2018.

During the robbery, Wilson pointed a loaded pistol at two employees and a customer who were inside the store and threatened to kill them. Wilson also brought zip ties to the robbery and instructed Williams to tie up the employees and customer. He forced the store manager to disconnect the store’s security video recording system, which Wilson took with him when he left the store.

At the time of the robbery, Wilson had just completed a 20-year sentence for robbing another Tampa pawnshop at gunpoint. He was released from prison less than four months before committing the armed robbery of the Value Pawn & Jewelry.

Williams pleaded guilty to his role in the robbery and testified during Wilson’s trial. On July 16, Williams was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tampa Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout.