Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Columbus Man Sentenced to More Than 18 Years in Prison for Robbing Auto Parts Stores at Gunpoint
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man was sentenced in federal court here today to 225 months in prison for armed robbery.
Craishon Russell, 32, robbed two auto parts stores at gunpoint in June 2019.
According to court documents, on June 5, 2019, Russell brandished a firearm at the AutoZone store on East Main St. in Reynoldsburg. Russell had employees empty the safe and registers, totaling in $1,400 in cash.
On June 15, 2019, Russell robbed at gunpoint the O’Reilly Auto Parts store on Gender Road in Canal Winchester.
Employees at each store described the assailant’s tattoos, including those on his neck and under his right eye.
“Russell’s crimes are very serious – in particular because a firearm was involved in the commission of the offenses,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Several employees and customers were present in both businesses at the time of the robberies making them even more brazen.”
On June 19, 2019, Russell was stopped by Columbus Division of Police officers on a complaint of a man waving a gun around. He was arrested after officers discovered a pistol in his vehicle.
Russell, also known as “Diablo,” was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2020 and pleaded guilty in July 2021 to robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland H. Herndon, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geraghty and Kevin W. Kelley are representing the United States in this case.