College Park Men Convicted in a String of Drug Store Robberies

ATLANTA - Lloyd Nathaniel Joyner, a/k/a Zulu, a/k/a Zu, and Dave Montonio Sturgis, Jr., have been convicted in federal district court in connection with a string of armed, drug store robberies in Atlanta and Cobb County, Georgia, in May and June 2015.

“These armed robbers stormed into businesses terrorizing the employees inside,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Through the hard work of the local police, the GBI and the FBI, law enforcement stopped this violent robbery crew, helping to make our community safer.”

“The armed robbery convictions of these two men in federal court signal not only a victory for those many agents and officers working long hours on this matter, but also for those citizens terrorized by their violent robberies. These convictions hold both Joyner and Sturgis fully accountable for their unbridled criminal conduct that spanned several metro Atlanta jurisdictions and their future now rests with a federal judge as they await sentencing,” said George Crouch, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

“This conviction illustrates the great work of law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting armed robberies in Georgia.  The Georgia Bureau of Investigation remains committed to working with our local and federal partners to pursue these vicious crimes,” said Vernon Keenan, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

“I am pleased with the efforts of several law enforcement agencies working together to bring two violent criminals to justice,” said Randy Johnson, Chief of the Lawrenceville Police Department.  Johnson emphasized the need for agencies to work together and share information in order to stop violent crime – “Criminals do not recognize jurisdictional limits, nor do they confine their activities to a single jurisdiction,” he said.  He also praised the work of Lawrenceville Police detective Justin Hipps, who recognized the similarity in crimes occurring across metro-Atlanta.  Detective Justin Hipps first noticed the robberies were related and put together a task force to solve the incidents.  “Detective Hipps did a great job to bring agencies together to share information.  We are proud of his tenacious efforts in investigating these crimes,” said Johnson.

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented at trial: Joyner and Joseph Stowers, who pleaded guilty prior to the trial, robbed CVS and Walgreens drug stores in Marietta, Smyrna, and Atlanta in May and June 2015.  During the robberies, the men were dressed in black, hooded sweatshirts, their faces were masked, and they brandished semiautomatic pistols.  They burst into the drug stores near closing time or, in the case of 24-hour stores, after midnight, when the stores were empty. They terrorized the employees by rounding them up and taking them to the store office, demanding that the manager open the store safe while the other employees were kept face-down on the floor. In some robberies, the robbers were limited to taking cash from cash registers. They also took the wallets and cell phones of several employees during the robberies, and then fled.

Joyner was convicted of robbing a CVS in Marietta on May 27, 2015; a CVS in Atlanta on June 4, 2015; and a CVS in Smyrna also on June 4th. 

Sturgis joined the robbery crew in mid-June as the driver, and he also went inside the stores before the robberies to scout the target locations. Joyner and Sturgis were convicted of robbing a Walgreens in Smyrna on June 16, 2015; a Walgreens in Marietta on June 18, 2015; and a CVS also in Marietta on June 19, 2015.

Joyner and Sturgis were also convicted on September 27, 2016, of aiding and abetting each other in the brandishing of firearms in the robberies on June 16, 18, and 19, 2015. FBI agents and task force officers arrested Joyner and Sturgis outside of another CVS in Marietta on June 24, 2015. 

Sentencing for Lloyd Nathaniel Joyner, a/k/a Zulu, a/k/a Zu, 25, of College Park, Ga., and Dave Montonio Sturgis, Jr., 25, of College Park, Ga., has not yet been scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Lawrenceville, Smyrna, Marietta, and Cobb County police departments.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Webb and William Traynor are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga