Inver Grove Heights Verizon Store Robber Sentenced To 15 Years

DAKOTA COUNTY, MN — A man has been sentenced to 180 months in prison for the armed robbery of an Inver Grove Heights business. Jamaal Marquie Mays, 34, and his co-defendant, Jaquon Keshawn Moman, 26, were charged in a superseding indictment on Feb. 7, 2018.

Mays, who pleaded guilty in September, was sentenced Wednesday, Moman pleaded guilty in August and was sentenced to 72 months in prison.

"These defendants showed complete disregard for human life when they made the decision to commit armed robbery of a business establishment located in a busy suburban retail area," United States Attorney MacDonald said in a statement.

"Such brazen acts of violence will not be tolerated in our communities and we, along with our law enforcement partners, are committing all necessary resources to bringing violent criminals to justice."

According to the guilty plea and documents filed in court, on Aug. 17, 2017, Mays and Moman entered a Verizon Wireless store in Inver Grove Heights armed with a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

After waiting for customers to leave the store, the two held the store employee at gunpoint while demanding money and cell phones. The employee pretended to comply, but then shot Mays in self-defense with a firearm the employee was licensed to carry.

Mays' firearm was also discharged, investigators said. During the exchange of gunfire, a stray bullet grazed a worker in an adjacent restaurant.

Mays was wounded and remained at the scene, while Moman fled on foot.

The Hobbs Act, passed by Congress in 1946, allows federal prosecutors to prosecute people who commit armed robberies of businesses engaged in interstate commerce.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Inver Grove Heights Police Department. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that brings together federal, state and local law enforcement to combat violent crime.