Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that today Charles Gibbons (age 24), Donnie Hall (age 22), and Juan Young (age 22), all of Providence, were sentenced by Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause for the October 7, 2014 armed robbery of the Shop N Go store on Union Street in Providence.
Gibbons was sentenced to 41 years with 21 years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation, 10 of which is non-parolable. Hall was sentenced to 39 years with 19 years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation, 10 of which is non-parolable. Young, who cooperated with the investigation, was sentenced to 18 years with eight years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation, non-parolable. All three had previously pleaded guilty in March, 2015.
Had the case proceed to trial, the State was prepared to prove that at approximately 9:00 p.m. on October 7, 2014, the three defendants drove to the Shop N Go on Union Avenue, where Gibbons and Hall, each armed with a gun, exited the motor vehicle driven by Young, put on masks, and entered the Shop N Go. They pointed the guns at the store owner, demanding he open the cash register and give them all the money. They stole approximately $500 and cigarettes.
After the robbery, Gibbons and Hall ran to the motor vehicle and fled the scene. Hoping to get the license plate of the motor vehicle, the owner of the Shop N Go followed the suspects in his motor vehicle to the area of Huntington Avenue in Cranston. There, Young stopped the motor vehicle, at which point Gibbons exited the vehicle, gun in hand, and fired at the store owner's vehicle before fleeing the scene again. The store owner was not injured.
Based upon the investigation and the information provided by the store owner, the three defendants were arrested the following day. "These young men, emboldened by guns, violently threatened and robbed a hard-working member of our community for a few hundred dollars and some cigarettes. This robbery could easily have ended with tragic consequences. Thankfully, though, the victim was not injured in the robbery or in his pursuit to identify the defendants," said Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.
Providence Police Detectives Charles Matracia and Robert Dumkuski led the investigation with assistance from Cranston Police Detective Lee Sohn. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Regine and Special Assistant Attorney General Peter Roklan prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.