CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) — Three men were sentenced to federal prison earlier this week after they reportedly threatened two people at gunpoint while committing armed robberies in August 2021.
According to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) of the Western District of Virginia, 43-year-old Markel Corevis Morton, 40-year-old Adrian Anderson and 27-year-old Quincy Brock pled guilty in September 2022 to participating in a pair of armed robberies the previous year. Morton and Brock also pled guilty to brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, the release read.
A fourth defendant, 48-year-old Corey Ramont Kinney, also pleaded guilty to similar charges, but he is expected to be sentenced at a later date.
According to court documents, Morton recruited Brock, Anderson and Kinney to rob a local drug dealer in August 2021 by promising to split $50,000 in cash, which he believed was hidden in an Albemarle County apartment. During this attempt to find the money, Morton waited at a different location while Brock, Anderson and Kinney forced their way into the apartment and held a female victim at gunpoint as they searched the residence and the female victim’s car, according to the USAO’s release. Brock, Anderson and Kinney did not find the $50,000, but they took the female victim’s phone and other personal belongings.
When the trio returned to Morton without the money, he insisted they find the drug dealer’s cash at a second location on Prospect Avenue in Charlottesville. The four men — all armed with pistols — then drove to the second location on the same night and took a safe containing approximately $50,000 along with another victim’s purse, according to the USAO. As they were leaving this location, a man who was standing outside stopped Morton and Brock. One of them pointed their handgun at the man as they fled the scene, the USAO’s release read.
The Albemarle County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation collaborated on the case, which led to the arrests of the four men in connection to both armed robberies.
On Monday, Dec. 12, a federal district court judge in Charlottesville sentenced Morton to more than 12 years in federal prison. Brock received 10 years and Anderson was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Kinney continues to await his sentencing.
