Skip to main content
Press Release

Durham Man Sentenced On Robbery, Firearms Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of North Carolina
235 months and 5 years supervised release

GREENSBORO, N.C. B A resident of Durham, North Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in Greensboro on December 17, 2109, for robbery and firearm offenses, announced United States Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin of the Middle District of North Carolina.

KEVIN JAMIE JENAVOUS MALONE, age 25, was sentenced to a 235 month term of imprisonment by United States District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr. In addition to prison time, MALONE was ordered to pay $33,200 in restitution and a $400 special assessment, and to serve five years of supervised release. MALONE pleaded guilty on September 3, 2019, to three counts of interfering with commerce by robbery (Hobbs robbery) and one count of brandishing a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence.

Court records show that MALONE was a member of the Nine Trey Gangstas (NTG), a group whose members committed acts of violence throughout North Carolina and along the east coast of the United States. MALONE pleaded guilty to his involvement in three such robberies:

  • On January 15, 2016, T.P. and his wife, H.P., closed their nail salon, Pink Nails, in Hillsborough, NC, and went home. On the way home they noticed that they were being followed. When they arrived home at their home in Hillsborough, they were assaulted by three black males wearing ski masks and carrying guns in the driveway of their home. They were forced inside of the residence and they and their children were held at gun-point. The men assaulted T.P. by hitting him over the head with a pistol. When they were leaving the residence one of the males discharged his firearm into the floor.
  • On January 17, 2016, Chapel Hill Police responded to North Estes Drive in reference to a robbery. When the officers arrived, they found a female victim, identified as G.K., lying on the sidewalk bleeding from her head. G.K. told the officers that she had been assaulted by four men wearing ski masks. The males had at least two pistols, which they pointed at her during the robbery, and they fled on foot. The second victim, identified as A.L., was not injured in the assault. The victims explained that they were in their driveway unloading their car when four males ran up to them, pointed guns at them, and demanded that they open the door to their house. G.K. refused to open the door to her residence, and she was struck in the head multiple times by one of the assailants. The men were not able to gain entry into the house, and the items stolen from the victims were reported as food items of little to no value. The victims informed the police that they own a jewelry kiosk, Lakhani Jewelers, in the Northgate Mall in Durham.
  • On January 21, 2016, four black males kicked in the front door of a residence on Rondelay Drive in Durham. All four males carried handguns. The males pointed weapons at family members and demanded money and jewelry. The residence belonged to, and was occupied by, the B. family. The B. family is of Middle Eastern descent and are the owners of Biswas Tobacco in Durham.

The case was investigated by the FBI, Durham Police Department, Durham County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry M. Meinecke.

###

Updated December 18, 2019