A man who held up five businesses over a 10-month period and attempted to rob a sixth will serve 21 years in federal prison for the robbery spree, authorities said Thursday.
Ricky Eugene Reid, 34, of Oakwood, robbed four North Georgia Ross stores and a Domino’s pizza shop between August 2018 and June of last year. The robberies occurred in Oakwood, Gainesville, Dunwoody, Johns Creek and Gwinnett County, according to a Department of Justice news release.
“While robbing the four department stores, Reid fired a gun multiple times through the front door window, shattering the glass,” prosecutors said. He also pointed the gun at store employees while demanding that they empty their cash registers.
During one robbery, he chased a store manager as she ran away with bank bags and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t hand them over, authorities said.
Reid was arrested June 7, 2019, as he prepared to rob a store in Buford, according to federal prosecutors. Inside his car, police discovered a firearm, ammunition and black clothing consistent with the outfits he wore during previous robberies.
Investigators eventually learned that Reid previously worked at one of the Ross stores he robbed.
The Hall County man pleaded guilty in December to multiple counts of armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime. He was sentenced last Thursday to 21 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $16,000 in restitution.
He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release once he is out of prison.
“Reid’s 10-month crime spree terrorized the employees of the businesses he robbed,” U.S. Attorney BJay Pak said in a statement. “The collective efforts of our federal and local law enforcement partners secured his apprehension, culminating in his convictions and this lengthy prison sentence.”
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