2 Members Of Armed Robbery Crew Convicted In Federal Court

DETROIT, MI — Two men who held up two Detroit Dollar General stores — one of the twice — in late 2014 and early 2015 were convicted of armed robbery Tuesday in federal court, the Justice Department said. They were arrested after an investigation as part the Detroit One initiative, a collaborative effort to crack down on violent crime in the city.

The two men, Dwayne Dupree, 30, and Shawn Pearson, 23, both of Detroit, were convicted of three counts each of robbery and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence after a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court.

“The defendants in this string of violent robberies were brazen in both terrorizing employees and placing the public in danger,” David P. Gelios, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Division, said in a news release.

He added that the verdict demonstrates the value of the continuing investigative partnership between the FBI and the Detroit Police Department in the collaborative efforts to reduce violent crime in metropolitan Detroit and to keep the community safe.

The crime spree started on Dec. 17, 2014, when four armed men stormed into the Dollar General store at 13441 E. Seven Mile Road in Detroit. The robbers, with their identities concealed with hoodies, masks and gloves, took over the counter area of the store, holding store employees at gunpoint before making off with some of the store’s money. One of the four armed men was Pearson, and he was assisted by Dupree, who acted as a lookout, according to the news release.

Less than three weeks later, on Jan. 5, 2015, two armed masked men robbed the same Dollar General store, this time firing shots at the store manager as they made their getaway. Once again, Pearson was one of the armed robbers, while this time Dupree acted as both a lookout and getaway driver, the Justice Department said.

Then, on March 19, 2015, Pearson and Dupree robbed the Dollar General store at 16004 Fenkell. In that rrobbery, the evidence showed that Dupree fired a shot into the air to scare the store employees to move faster in turning over the store’s money.

The FBI Violent Crime Task Force, working in close collaboration with members of the Detroit Police Department, followed the evidence, including ballistic, phone, and social media information, to identify Dupree and Pearson and to solve these robberies, according to the news release.

“The Detroit One partnership focuses on criminals like this armed robbery crew, who endanger public safety and create a climate of fear,” U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said. “By identifying and prosecuting the individuals and groups driving violence in Detroit, we hope to make the city a safe place to live and work.”

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