WASHINGTON — A man who used a rusty box cutter in a robbery attempt at a Northwest D.C. convenience store last year was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday.
On. Oct. 14, 2017, 45-year-old Michael Jones, of D.C., attempted to rob an Ethiopian market in the 5500 block of Illinois Avenue in Northwest. Jones walked up to the store’s owner with a box cutter, pushed out its rusty blade and demanded money, according to court documents from prosecutors.
The store owner recognized Jones because he had come to the store at night and tried to open the front door when it was locked, prosecutors said.
The owner, whose pregnant fiancee was in the store during the robbery attempt, feared for their safety, and pushed Jones, according to prosecutors. Jones ran out of the store and was arrested a short time later by police, who found a box-cutter on his person. Jones told arresting officers that he didn’t take anything from the store, according to court documents.
Jones has been in police custody since his arrest.
At the time of his arrest, he was on probation for three destruction of property convictions that occurred six months earlier. Additionally, Jones had been convicted 23 times in the last 27 years.
A jury found Jones guilty in February 2018 of a charge of assault with intent to commit robbery while armed. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 15 years, with all but seven years suspended on the condition that he successfully complete two years of supervised probation upon his release from prison.
