United States Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Virginia
Chuck Rosenberg - United States Attorney

ALEXANDRIA     NEWPORT NEWS      NORFOLK      RICHMOND

October 27, 2006

Further Information Contact:
Deanna Warren
Phone: (757) 441-6331

Robber Sentenced to 1,788 Months in Prison

(Newport News, VA) - John Small, age 26, of Hampton, Virginia, was sentenced to 1,788 months in prison for his role in a string of armed robberies that occurred in the Hampton and Newport News, Virginia areas from December 2004 through March 2005. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after United States District Court Judge Jerome Friedman sentenced Small today.
Small and co-conspirator, Caleb Carr, age 20, of Hampton, Virginia were tried in federal court and convicted on July 29, 2006, on charges of Conspiring to Commit Robbery Affecting Commerce; Committing Robbery that Affected, Obstructed, or Delayed Commerce; and, Using, Carrying and Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. Carr was also convicted for his role in attempting to commit and carrying a firearm during an additional robbery that occurred on March 14, 2005.

Small and Carr's robbery spree started on December 29, 2004, with the robbery of a 7-11 store in Hampton, Virginia. They conducted three more robberies in Hampton, including one at the same 7-11 as the first robbery. Small and Carr then moved their robbery spree to Newport News, where in the early morning hours of February 4, 2006, they robbed a Crown Gas Station.

The robbery spree ended on March 14, 2005, when Carr robbed a Food Lion grocery store in Hampton. A security guard confronted Carr, and Carr was shot during the altercation. As a result of Carr's capture, Hampton detectives were able to locate his roommate, Small, who was found in possession of a firearm fitting the same general description as the weapon used during the robberies. Subsequent laboratory analysis connected Small's gun to shell casings and bullets recovered by Newport News and Hampton forensic specialists at four of the robbery scenes.

Caleb Carr was sentenced on October 23, 2006, to 2,108 months in prison.

The investigation was conducted through the joint efforts of the Hampton and Newport News Police Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The prosecution was coordinated with the assistance of the Hampton and Newport News Commonwealth's Attorneys' Offices. Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Gill and Howard Zlotnick prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.