Macon – A Macon man pleaded guilty to armed robbery and aggravated assault Tuesday stemming from a Sept. 29, 2016, heist at the Family Dollar at 2123 Pio Nono Avenue.
As a result of his plea, 27-year-old Jerome Dercuse Nelson was sentenced to 20 years, 10 of them in prison. Nelson must serve his prison stint without the possibility of parole.
If the case had gone to trial, prosecutor Jonathan Gordon would have presented evidence showing:
Nelson entered the store – not wearing a mask – at about 10:45 a.m. After walking down an aisle, he put on a mask similar to the one from the movie “Scream.”
Nelson then demanded money from the clerk working at the cash register, holding a pistol in each hand. He jumped over the counter during the robbery, still holding the clerk at gunpoint.
Once the cash register was open, Nelson put his guns down on the counter, grabbed the cash and ran out of the store. He left his guns – later determined to be BB guns – behind.
Customers chased Nelson outside and spotted him getting into a car. They gave the car’s tag number to Bibb County deputies who traced the car to Nelson’s then-girlfriend. She confirmed Nelson had used the car to drop her off at work about an hour before the robbery.
DNA found on the BB guns matched Nelson.
Speaking after the hearing, Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke said, “Mr. Nelson’s reckless actions placed the lives and safety of employees and bystanders at risk. His acceptance of responsibility and contrition for his crimes are the only reason he’s not facing a lifetime behind bars.”
For more news from the District Attorney’s Office, follow on Twitter @DA_DavidCooke, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DADavidCooke and on Instagram at da_davidcooke.
Contact: Amy Leigh Womack
478-621-6179 (office)
478-319-2529 (cell)
