By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK — A 25-year-old man who robbed the same fast-food restaurant three times last fall was sentenced to a minimum of nine years in prison on seven counts of armed robbery.
Thomas Maurice Davis was sentenced Wednesday by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Ulysses W. Boykin to nine to 30 years in prison for each of seven counts of armed robbery, and one to four years for two weapons charges.
Davis entered guilty pleas last month shortly before a scheduled jury trial for a one-man series of holdups at Taco Bell, 2306 Dix-Toledo. Davis first robbed the store — located less than a mile from his home — in November 2012. He entered the restaurant, pointed a shotgun at employees, demanded cash and fired a shot into the ceiling.
The robbery was repeated twice, once in late November and again in early December. Witness and employee descriptions pointed investigators to a trail of evidence that included clothing worn during the robberies that had been discarded en route between Taco Bell and Davis’ home.
The sentencing marked the third felony conviction for Davis, whose record dates back to a 2005 assault charge. While in custody Davis had been declared able to understand the charges against him during two separate competency exams.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])