Cobb County Armed Robber Gets 20-Year Prison Sentence

MARIETTA, GA -- A man will serve 20 years in prison for the armed robbery of a store clerk. Last week, a Cobb jury convicted Harold Lee Clinton III of the July 24, 2017, armed robbery at the Dollar Smart store on Pat Mell Road. About 6:15 p.m. that day, Clinton, who was a regular customer there, entered the store with his face obscured by a makeshift cloth mask and armed with a black handgun. As he ordered the clerk to sit and put his head down, Clinton waved the gun around, demanded money and asked the victim if he was “willing to lose a leg over this?”

Clinton put the gun to the back of the victim’s head and asked if he was willing to lose his life. He then grabbed $1,800 in cash, a car key and other items, and fled the store.

At some point during the encounter, Clinton’s mask slipped, and the victim got a good look at him. Detectives also retrieved surveillance footage from a nearby store, and Clinton was seen in those images without a mask. Clinton had the stolen car key in his pocket when he was arrested at a nearby apartment complex the next day.

The jury acquitted a man charged as an unarmed accomplice. That man was identified by the victim but was not seen without a mask on any surveillance video.

Shortly after the verdict, Cobb Superior Court Judge Reuben Green sentenced Clinton to serve 20 years in prison without parole, and ordered him to pay $1,800 in restitution.

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