Jeffrey Riggenbach
On April 9, 2002, Riggenbach and a co-defendant forced their way into a man’s apartment in Fulton County. Riggenbach pulled out a gun and forced the man to take them to two stores. There they forced him to buy them more than $600 in merchandise. Fifteen days later, Riggenbach entered a parked car occupied by two people outside a fast-food restaurant on Johnson Ferry Road. Holding a 9-millimeter handgun and a knife, he ordered the driver to hand over all his cash, which proved to be $6.
Outcome: Riggenbach pleaded guilty to reduced charges of robbery and received 10-year prison sentences in both Fulton and Cobb. He was paroled in September 2009 after serving seven years, five months behind bars.
Keith Kirksey
On July 4, 2004, outside a MARTA station, a woman and her son handed over a camera iPod, headphones and $35 to Kirksey and an accomplice after Kirksey brandished a handgun. Less than three weeks later, Kirksey pulled a gun on a student inside a Georgia State University parking deck. The student handed over his book bag and car keys, and Kirksey went inside the student’s car and took a cell phone, CD player and calculator. Three days later, an undercover GSU officer saw Kirksey inside the same lot, chased him down and arrested him, whereupon Kirksey confessed to both armed robberies.
Outcome: Kirksey pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years probation; he was paroled in January 2012 after serving seven years and seven months.
Jeremiah Bates
Bates, 21, and three juveniles entered the Mount Paran Country Store Sept. 9, 2005. Two walked behind the cash register and two stood in front of the counter. One pulled a gun, pointed it at the clerk’s head and demanded money. The four then ran out of the store with about $1,000. The clerk jumped into his car, followed the culprits’ van and called 911. Near West Paces Ferry Road, police caught up with the van, which had crashed into a curb, and arrested the four.
Outcome: Bates pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to seven years in prison by a judge who told him how fortunate he was to avoid the mandatory 10-year prison term; Bates was released in May 2009 after serving three years and eight months. He returned to prison in 2011 after a conspiracy conviction.
Kevin and Joseph Sivonda
On April 1, 2006, the two brothers from Norcross called a cab. After they got into the taxi, one pulled out a handgun and took $160 and a cell phone from the driver. A day later, they called another cab and, after brandishing the gun, robbed the driver of his cash and two cell phones. Kevin, who used his own cell phone to make all the calls and identified himself by name on one of them, called for another cab two days later and robbed the driver at gunpoint of his cell phone.
Outcome: Both pleaded guilty to robbery charges and were sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years probation; Joseph was paroled in November after serving six years and seven months. Kevin was paroled in January after six years and nine months.
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