Man pleads guilty to robbery charges
A Craighead County man facing two federal robbery counts and two counts of brandishing firearms faces the possibility of 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to the two firearms counts against him.
Jimmie McDuffy, 27, of Jonesboro was indicted in November 2022 in connection with the armed robberies of an Exxon gas station and Arvest Bank branch in Jonesboro on April 14, 2022. Originally charged in Craighead County Circuit Court with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, theft of property and possession of firearms by certain persons, McDuffy was indicted Nov. 2 on federal charges of interference with commerce by robbery, bank robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
McDuffy was initially charged in Craighead County Circuit Court with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, theft of property and possession of firearms by certain persons. Those charges were dismissed following his indictment in federal court.
McDuffy, who is in federal custody, was escorted into the courtroom Tuesday by federal marshals and seated with his attorney, Geoffrey Kearney of Pine Bluff.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Mazzanti told U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker that the government is seeking $3,870 in restitution; $535 to the Exxon station and $3,335 to Arvest Bank.
Mazzanti said that in exchange for McDuffy’s guilty plea, the government would dismiss the charges of interference with commerce by robbery and bank robbery and would withdraw a petition for revocation of McDuffy’s supervised release related to an earlier conviction for firearm possession.
On April 29, 2021, McDuffy was sentenced to 21 months in prison and three years supervised release after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. His supervision commenced on Jan. 18, 2022, according to a revocation petition which was filed following his arrest in the instant offense. She said, however, that under the terms of the agreement, McDuffy would not receive any decrease for acceptance of responsibility.
Mazzanti said that, according to the terms of the plea agreement, just after midnight on April 14, McDuffy, wearing black clothing and a ski mask, entered an Exxon gas station on Caraway Rd. in Jonesboro and demanded money at gunpoint from the clerk on duty, making off with $535 in cash. About 3:20 p.m. that same day, Mazzanti said, McDuffy, dressed in black clothing and a black mask entered an Arvest Bank branch on Southwest Dr. in Jonesboro and demanded money.
Mazzanti said McDuffy was identified when Jonesboro police, reviewing security video of the gas station robbery, saw a distinctive tattoo spelling out “LOVE” on the suspects right hand. The “O,” she said, was in the shape of a diamond and the “V” was shaped like and arrow.
According to court records, after the gas station clerk identified McDuffy as a frequent visitor to the store, police obtained an arrest warrant and after learning he had left town, located McDuffy at a Little Rock apartment and arrested him. Court records did not indicate how authorities connected McDuffy to the bank robbery. Mazzanti said following his arrest, McDuffy admitted to the robbery of the Exxon station but refused to discuss the robbery at Arvest Bank.
“One of his cell phones contained a video created on the same day as the robberies,” she said, “which depicted Mr. McDuffy holding up a large amount of cash, fanning it out with 13 $100 bills.”
Mazzanti said web searches recovered from McDuffy’s phone indicated that the day after the robberies, he had searched the web for “robbery porn videos” and that he had searched on the website of Jonesboro television station KAIT 8 for “police on scene bank robberies” articles.
“The search history for April 21, 2022,” Mazzanti continued, “included, ‘car rental for one day,’ and ‘how long can you be on the run from the law.’”
As Baker asked him how he wished to plead on the firearms counts, McDuffy replied, in a barely audible voice, “guilty” on each of the two counts.
“Is that because you are in fact guilty?” Baker asked. “Yes,” McDuffy replied. McDuffy will be sentenced at a later date following completion of a pre-sentencing report by the U.S. Probation Office.