A D.C. man who prosecutors said carried out a string of armed burglaries at Virginia gas stations in 2016 has been convicted by a federal jury.
Kenya Preston Williams, 37, participated in the armed robbery of an Exxon gas station in Alexandria and two different armed robberies of the same Shell gas station in Falls Church, according to a news release.
The first armed robbery occurred in August 2016 at a Shell gas station in Fairfax County, Virginia. The second armed robbery took place in October 2016 at an Exxon gas station in Alexandria, Virginia. The third armed robbery occurred later that month at a Shell gas station in Fairfax County, Virginia, which was the same gas station where the first robbery occurred, according to court documents.
The robberies were committed by two suspects, who investigators have identified as Williams and Steven Oneil Houston, 26, of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Houston previously pleaded guilty to charges of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, according to the release.
“Williams is a violent criminal who engaged in a series of attempted robberies with a firearm,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in a news release. “Removing violent criminals off our streets is critical to ensuring that all have the opportunity to feel safe and secure where they live, go to school, and raise their families.”
Williams was convicted of conspiring to obstruct commerce by robbery, obstructing commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He faces up to life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 21 years in prison when he is sentenced in September, according to the release.
