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A New Bern man was sentenced Wednesday, May 25, 2022 to 144 months in prison for committing an armed robbery of the Five Points Gas Station in New Bern, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina. Quamaine Donell Smith, 30, pleaded guilty on February 16, 2022 to interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on May 17, 2021, officers with the New Bern Police Department responded to an armed robbery call at the Five Points Gas Station in New Bern. Officers reviewed video surveillance footage from inside the store, which showed Smith and co-defendant Francesco Greco Jr. committing the armed robbery, stated the release.

“Smith entered the store armed with a handgun, and Greco entered armed with a tire iron. Video showed Smith round the corner and strike the store clerk in the head with his gun. Smith and Greco then emptied the cash register and fled the store in a getaway vehicle,” stated the release. “In total, the pair stole roughly $3,000 in cash from the store. New Bern Police located and arrested both Greco and Smith later that night and recovered the firearm used during the robbery.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The New Bern Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aakash Singh prosecuted.

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