Three men who were arrested in Marietta more than five years ago will each spend time behind bars for their roles in a string of violent armed robberies in Georgia and Texas.
Tyvonne Wiley, 25, of Marietta, was found guilty by a jury in May 2021 on multiple charges related to the series of robberies, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Kurt Erskine said in a news release. The other two defendants, 27-year-old Tevin Mitchell of Enid, Oklahoma, and 28-year-old Torey Starling of Marietta, each pleaded guilty to their charges.
The trio is guilty of committing five armed robberies at retail stores around the metro Atlanta area in 2016, Erskine said. Wiley and Mitchell were also charged with a robbery in Texas prior to the robbery spree in Georgia.
According to Erskine, Wiley would charge into stores with a gun, sometimes accompanied by Mitchell, and order everyone to the ground. Then, they would force store clerks to empty their registers as they brandished their guns. They would threaten to shoot and kill multiple people if their orders were not followed. Starling served as the getaway driver in two of the robberies.
Multiple robberies took place at GameStop stores, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Investigators were able to catch a break in the case when multiple law enforcement agencies linked similar GameStop robberies together.
The three men were captured at Starling’s house in Marietta in October 2016. Cobb County police found guns and masks used during multiple robberies at the home, as well as some of the cash taken from the stores.
Wiley was found guilty of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, five counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and five counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, Erskine said. He has been sentenced to 35 years and one day in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, Erskine said. Starling pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced to six years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Each man will also be forced to pay restitution to the robbery victims, Erskine said.
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