Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Pawnshop Robber Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington today sentenced Terry Alonzo Wilson (53, Tampa) to 25 years in federal prison for planning and carrying out an armed robbery of a Tampa pawnshop. The court also ordered Wilson to forfeit $63,543, which includes the $61,943 in jewelry and $1,600 in cash that Wilson and his co-defendant, Jeremy Williams (35, Miami), had taken from the pawnshop during the robbery.
On June 18, 2019, a jury found Wilson guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, brandishing a firearm during a robbery, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial and the sentencing hearing, Wilson recruited Williams to rob the Value Pawn & Jewelry, located at 5401 North 40th Street in Tampa. During the robbery, on September 14, 2018, Wilson pointed a loaded pistol at two employees and a customer who were inside the store and threated to kill them. Wilson also brought zip ties to the robbery and instructed Williams to tie up the employees and the customer. Wilson forced the store manager to disconnect the store’s security video recording system, which Wilson took with him when he left the store.
In total, Wilson and Williams took $63,543 worth of jewelry and cash from the pawnshop. At the time of the robbery, Wilson had recently completed a 20-year sentence for robbing another Tampa pawnshop at gunpoint. He was released from prison less than four months before committing the armed robbery of the Value Pawn & Jewelry.
Williams pleaded guilty to his role in the case and testified during Wilson’s trial. On July 16, 2018, Williams was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout.
This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
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