Cell Phone Store Robbers Sentenced to Combined 61 Years in Federal Prison

Two men convicted of committing violent robberies at cell phone stores across North Texas have been sentenced to a combined 61 years in federal prison following an investigation by the FBI”s Dallas Field Office, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Following a six-day trial in April 2018, a jury convicted Michael Wright, 29, of Dallas, of three counts of interference with commerce by robbery, three counts of possessing or brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and unlawful possession if a firearm by a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade on Wednesday sentenced Mr. Wright to 36 years’ imprisonment.

The jury convicted Rickey Cherry, 29, also of Dallas, of two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Judge Kinkeade sentenced Mr. Cherry to 25 years’ imprisonment.

A coconspirator, Kameron Robinson, 27, previously pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He was sentenced in August 2018 to 12 years’ imprisonment.

According to facts presented at Wright and Cherry’s trial, on Jan. 2, 2015, Mr. Wright and Mr. Robinson – masked and armed with a .45 caliber pistol – robbed an AT&T retail store at gunpoint in Ennis, Texas.  They stole approximately $30,000 of inventory, including cell phones and tablets. 

They were apprehended by Ennis Police Department after leading police on a dangerous, high-speed pursuit, driving on the wrong side of the highway and over rain-slick rural roads.

Mr. Wright posted bond the following day. Just twenty days later, on Jan. 22, he and Mr. Cherry – masked and armed with a pistol – robbed a RadioShack at gunpoint in Duncanville, Texas. They viciously pistol-whipped the store manager before making off with approximately $28,000 in inventory, including cell phones.

Two weeks later, Mr.  Wright and Mr. Cherry – once again masked and armed – robbed an AT&T retailer at gunpoint in Grand Prairie, Texas. They stole approximately $32,000 in inventory, including cell phones and tablets. 

DNA evidence presented at trial linked them to the robberies.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ennis Police Department, the Duncanville Police Department, the Grand Prairie Police Department, and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Keith Robinson, Brian McKay, and Gary Tromblay prosecuted the case.