DELAWARE, Ohio — A Columbus man will spend five years in prison for a 2022 robbery of a Tanger Outlets store.
According to court documents, on June 15, 2022, Deondray A. Little, 53, left the Tommy Hilfiger outlet store without paying for items. A store employee followed Little to his car. When Little reached his car, investigators said he threatened the employee by saying he had a gun.
The employee told the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office that she believed Little would have followed through with the threat.
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Deputies located Little’s car and conducted a traffic stop. During the stop, a loaded handgun was found in the car. Little told deputies the gun was for personal protection, according to court documents.
Deputies later discovered the handgun was reported stolen in Columbus. Little was also legally prohibited from possessing a gun due to prior felony convictions.
Little was indicted on charges of aggravated robbery, having weapons under disability, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and robbery. He pleaded guilty to robbery and weapons under disability charges.
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Before sentencing, Little’s defense attorney argued for no prison sentence for the robbery charge and one year in prison for the gun specification. Little’s attorney wrote that the robbery more closely resembled a theft offense, and that the gun was never displayed, brandished, or used.
Judge David Gormley imposed a sentence of four years for robbery, an additional one year for a gun specification, and two years for weapons under disability. The robbery and gun specification sentences will run consecutively, with the weapons under disability sentence running concurrently. That adds up to a total of five years in prison, with credit for 212 days in jail before trial.