Portsmouth Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for String of Commercial Robberies
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 24, 2011 |
NORFOLK, VA—Josiah Tiondra Watson, 21, of Portsmouth, Va., was sentenced today in Norfolk federal court to 35 years in prison for his role participating in a series of five armed robberies in Portsmouth in October 2010.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after Watson was sentenced by United States District Judge Rebecca B. Smith. Watson previously pled guilty on February 16, 2011.
According to court documents, Watson and two other co-conspirators lured food-delivery personnel to phony addresses in order to rob them at gunpoint. Watson was also involved in the knife-point robbery of a Cashwell check-cashing service outlet in Portsmouth.
This case was investigated by the FBI in coordination with the Portsmouth Police Department and Virginia State Police. Special Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth Fitzwater and Cameron Rountree prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.