Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

MIAMI — On Jan. 11, Rodney Leroy Brown, 36, of Pompano Beach, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore to 324 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after having been convicted by a trial jury of Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

On March 18, 2023, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Brown – who had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including burglary, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and grand theft – entered a convenience store located in Pompano Beach. Brown selected a soda bottle from the beverage cooler inside the store before surreptitiously walking around the counter to the register area. He then confronted the store clerk, who was behind the counter, and the clerk’s 5-year-old son. Brown brandished two firearms at both the clerk and child, threatening to kill them if they did not give him the money from the registers. In fear, the clerk complied. Brown grabbed money from the registers and then stole the clerk’s purse before fleeing the store.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, announced the sentence.

ATF Miami Field Division investigated the case with assistance from the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ajay J. Alexander and Catherine Koontz prosecuted the case.

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