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Armed Robber Sentenced to 51 Years’ Imprisonment

U.S. Attorney’s Office November 01, 2010
  • Middle District of Florida (904) 301-6300

OCALA, FL—U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges today sentenced Victor John Walker, age 24, of Ocala, Florida, to 51 years and seven months in federal prison for his involvement in a string of armed robberies. Walker entered a guilty plea on April 1, 2010.

According to court documents, Walker was involved in a string of robberies that began with the robbery of a Burger King in Ohio on November 17, 2008. He continued with two more robberies and an attempted robbery in Ohio. He was also involved in the robbery of a Hungry Howies restaurant in Ocala, Florida, and the attempted robbery of a Burger King in Lady Lake, Florida. Walker was assisted, to varying degrees, by co-defendants Allen C. Butler (age 26), Katy Rae Radney (age 24), and Jeremy Ryan Nedrick (age 21), all from Ocala. Butler, Radney, and Nedrick also entered guilty pleas, and have already been sentenced.

Firearms were used in all of the robberies. A firearm was discharged during one of the completed robberies and during the two attempted robberies. Walker's crime spree ended on May 4, 2009, after Walker, Butler, and Nedrick made the failed attempt to rob the Burger King in Lady Lake. Walker fired an AK-47 rifle during that failed robbery attempt. Later that day Marion County deputies attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Walker, who temporarily evaded apprehension after firing the same AK-47 rifle at the deputies, injuring one. Walker and Nedrick then attempted to evade law enforcement officers in a different vehicle, but were ultimately apprehended.

A subsequent investigation, coordinated by state and federal law enforcement agencies cooperating across several states, revealed Walker's involvement in the other robberies. Walker was convicted of violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951, which is commonly referred to as the “Hobbs Act.” The Hobbs Act makes it a federal crime to commit a robbery, to conspire to commit a robbery, or to attempt to commit a robbery which affects interstate commerce. Interstate commerce can be affected when robberies are committed at business establishments with operations in more than one state. Walker was also convicted of violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), which makes it a federal crime to use or carry a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence, such as a robbery.

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office; the Mansfield, Ohio, Police Department; the Shelby, Ohio, Police Department; the Richland County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office; the Nassau County, New York, Police Department; the Hempstead, New York, Police Department; the Lady Lake, Florida, Police Department; the Ocala, Florida, Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) offices in Florida, Ohio, and New York; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offices in Florida, New York, and Ohio; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samuel Armstrong.

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