Opinion ID: 2978752
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Robberies

Text: This case arises out of a two-week crime spree in November 2006 in the Detroit area. In total, all but one of the persons responsible were arrested for their participation in the armed robberies of five separate businesses. McDonel was involved in all five robberies along with a cohort named Jonnie Cromer. The men formulated a plan whereby one of them would scope out the interior of a store and call the other (or others, when additional accomplices were involved) via cell phone to let them know when the store had few patrons. Whoever was waiting outside the store would then enter, and together they would demand cash from the store employees. According to Cromer, the plan was to commit “basic[] in-and-out robberies” for “quick money,” and they had no intention of shooting or killing anybody. During the robberies, they normally wore masks, “hoodie” sweatshirts, and gloves in an effort to conceal their identities. The first robbery, on November 16, 2006, targeted an AutoZone automotive-parts store and involved only McDonel and Cromer. Cromer conducted surveillance, and McDonel joined him inside shortly thereafter, brandishing a .25-caliber handgun. Cromer drove the get-away car. They took approximately $1,500 in cash from the store, which they then divided between the two of them. -2- Nos. 08-2182, 08-2304 United States v. McDonel; United States v. Atkins On November 20, 2006, McDonel and Cromer robbed a second AutoZone store, this time with the aid of an accomplice named Kenneth Brown. As with the first robbery, Cromer scoped out the store and, at his signal, McDonel and Brown joined him inside, carrying handguns. Cromer again drove the get-away vehicle, and the three men divided up the stolen cash, which totaled somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500. For the next robbery—of a third AutoZone store—on November 27, 2006, McDonel and Cromer recruited Atkins to take the place of Brown. (Brown did not partake in any of the other three robberies and was later charged in state court.) During this robbery, both Cromer and Atkins surveilled the store, with McDonel entering shortly thereafter, carrying a firearm. McDonel took somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000 in cash and exited the store, with the three men reconvening soon thereafter in the parking lot. McDonel, Cromer, and Atkins struck again on November 30, 2006, this time targeting a Simply Fashions clothing store. A fourth man, Maurice Woodley, joined the three men and, along with McDonel, drove one of the two vehicles used during the commission of the robbery. Although none of the four men conducted pre-robbery surveillance, Cromer and Atkins entered the store anyway, carrying firearms, and took approximately $200. This take was smaller than in their previous robberies because an armored car had hauled away money from the store’s safe just prior to the robbery, leaving only the money in the cash registers available for Cromer and Atkins. Unhappy with this relatively paltry sum, the four men decided to rob another store almost immediately upon reconvening. -3- Nos. 08-2182, 08-2304 United States v. McDonel; United States v. Atkins The fifth robbery occurred within an hour of the Simply Fashions robbery, with McDonel, Cromer, Atkins, and Woodley targeting a Murray’s Discount Auto Store. For this robbery, Cromer and Atkins conducted surveillance, and McDonel and Woodley, upon being signaled by their accomplices inside, entered the store brandishing firearms and took approximately $3,000 in cash.