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Kareem Jaquian Dennings, 21, of Fayetteville, was sentenced March 15 to 120 months in prison for possessing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, according to a press release from the Department of Justice, Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to the investigation, on October 9, 2017, a little after 4 p.m., a man robbed the Fast Trip gas station on Yadkin road in Fayetteville. The press release stated Dennings walked behind the counter and as he approached the clerk at the cash register, he pointed the gun at her and racked the slide. He demanded the money, and in the process of transferring the money into a book bag he carried, fired one shot downward past the clerk’s legs. In total he took $220.

“The surveillance video showed the suspect to be a 5’6” to 5’9” African American male with a thin build. He wore his jacket hood up and a red bandana over his nose. Surveillance video showed that the suspect had handled the store’s door frame and responding Fayetteville PD officers were able to obtain a latent fingerprint. They also recovered a spent .38 caliber shell casing under the store counter,” stated the release.

Law enforcement ran the fingerprints through the State Automated Fingerprint Identification System (SAFIS), which reported a match to Dennings. A review of Dennings’ Facebook account showed that he matched the robber’s physical description, according to the release, which also stated the account included several photos in which he appeared to be wearing the same jacket and a similar red bandana to the robber.

“When arrested, Dennings was wearing this same bandana. He denied having been to the Fast Trip gas station, but when confronted with the fingerprint evidence, he claimed that he had been drinking that day and may have forgotten visiting the store,” stated the release. “After the interview, Dennings was observed in the interview room digging with his hands into his shorts that he wore under his pants. Officers searched him again and found a .38 caliber bullet in one of the pockets, consistent with the shell casing found at the Fast Trip.”

G. Norman Acker III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Fayetteville Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted.

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