SUPERIOR COURT
A defendant in a 2020 armed robbery case in Gray entered a guilty plea in Jones County Superior Court and received a 10-year sentence.
Briton Deion Duncan pled guilty to the lesser-included offense of robbery by force Aug. 25 as part of plea negotiations. He was given three years to serve in confinement with the remainder of sentence to be served on probation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore, and Superior Court Judge Hugh Wingfield presided. Duncan was represented by public defender Tom O’Donnell.
Fiore told the court that the defendant was also on probation in two separate cases, one of which will end May 21, 2023. The second probation case that included drug and obstruction charges will not end until 2037.
The prosecutor told the court that the case had been delayed because of the mental health issues of the defendant.
A News story about Duncan’s Dec. 4, 2020, arrest stated that Gray Police Department Lt. Mitch Lovick responded to ‘be on the lookout’ report concerning the report of an armed robbery at a local apartment complex. In his report of the accident, Lovick said he met with the victim in the parking lot of the Jones County Sheriff’s Department.
The officer said he was told by the victim that he was in the parking lot of the apartment complex when he was robbed at gunpoint. He reported that $50 was stolen.
Lovick said the victim was able to take a picture of the license plate of the offender’s car. The officer said the tag number came back to a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria registered to Duncan.
The lieutenant said the victim was brought to the Gray Police Department and interviewed by Maj. Chris Williams. It was discovered in that interview that the victim had gone to the apartment parking lot to purchase marijuana.
A description of the offender’s vehicle was broadcast, and GPD Officer Cameron Stewart made contact with the Crown Victoria at the end of Dolly Street. Lovick said Stewart, with the assistance of additional officers, took Duncan into custody and transported him to the Jones County Law Enforcement Center.
Duncan’s vehicle was towed to the Gray Police Department.
Lovick said officers interviewed several men who were standing around Duncan’s vehicle at the time of his arrest. As a result of those interviews, the gun believed to have been used in the robbery, was located where it had been hidden.
In addition to the arrest of Briton Duncan, Lowe said Atravius Ahmon Duncan and Douglas Safari West were arrested in connection with the robbery. Both were charged with felony tampering with evidence.
