Riverview Man Pleads Guilty To Two Armed Robberies

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jamaal Black (22, Riverview) today pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to one of the robberies. Black faces a maximum penalty of 20 years on each robbery count. The firearm offense carries a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison consecutive to any other term of imprisonment. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, on January 30, 2021, Black entered a gas station in Riverview, pulled out a pistol with an extended magazine, aimed it at the clerk, and demanded money. Black attempted to go behind the counter when the clerk refused to give Black the money. Black then engaged in an altercation with the clerk and shot the clerk in the arm during the struggle. The clerk fell to the ground. Black approached the clerk, aimed the firearm at the clerk, and repeated the demand for money. The clerk, bleeding profusely from his gunshot wound, complied, went to the cash register and gave Black the contents. Black escaped the gas station with $200.

Two months later, on March 14, 2021, Black committed another robbery using a minor female to arrange for a marijuana transaction. The girl went to a local drug dealer’s home under the guise of purchasing marijuana. Black approached the dealer when the dealer retrieved the marijuana for the sale. Black pressed a firearm to the drug dealer’s head and demanded the marijuana. The drug dealer threw the marijuana at Black and retreated into the home.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.