Fast-food robber gets 107 year sentence

A Philadelphia man who participated in a string of neighborhood robberies in October 2008 was sentenced to more than 107 years in federal prison this morning. Devon Brinkley, 24, and four co-defendants, robbed two Dunkin' Donuts shops in Philadelphia, a Dunkin' Donuts and a Pizza Hut in Upper Darby and a McDonald's in Radnor over a nine-day period.

Brinkley was convicted by a jury in May of multiple counts of Hobbs Act conspiracy, robbery and related gun offenses. The Hobbs Act is a federal law that prohibits actual or attempted robbery affecting interstate or foreign commerce.

Authorities said that in each of the robberies, Brinkley and his co-conspirators entered the businesses with their guns drawn, threatening employees and customers that were present, forcing them to the floor and stealing money from cash registers and safes. Victims testified they were terrorized.

In one robbery, a female worker was struck in the head with a gun and then forced into an office to open the safe. Another female worker testified she thought she would be raped and murdered by the robbers because there was not enough money for them to steal.

U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller also ordered Brinkley to make restitution of almost $21,000.

Some of the codefendants cooperated with the prosecution. Lukner Rene, Jonathan Moman, Gregory Pitt and Kebrum Teklu all pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy, robbery and related gun offenses. They received prison terms ranging from three to 20 years. A fifth co-defendant, Divonne Pitt, was acquitted of all charges at a trial last September.