Armed Pharmacy Robberies Net Knoxville Man a Sentence of 121 Years in Federal Prison

KNOXVILLE—On June 11, 2012, Daniel D. Gibson, 24, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to serve 121 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone, and for five pharmacy robberies between the dates of September 14 and December 17, 2010.

A jury found Gibson guilty of these offenses in January 2012. In each of these incidents, Gibson and his accomplices used firearms and robbed the pharmacies during the day while customers were present inside. In every robbery, Gibson jumped over the pharmacy counter and pointed his firearm directly at the pharmacist, while demanding prescription medication. Because of his use of a firearm, Gibson, upon his conviction as charged, was exposed to mandatory minimum terms of 107 years in prison. The Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, U.S. District Judge, added another 14 years on the other counts of conviction.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian said, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to use federal firearms statutes to obtain stiff sentences for anyone who commits a federal violent crime while armed with a gun. To anyone in the district who is thinking about doing so, I suggest you consider Gibson’s fate before you act.”

The arrest and subsequent conviction of Gibson were the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Knoxville Police Department, and Knox County Sheriff’s Office. The United States was represented in this case by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Norris and Zachary Bolitho.