Three men pleaded guilty and have been sentenced for robbing a Conway area store

Three men have pleaded guilty to robbing a Dollar General store in the Conway area in 2016 and were sentenced to prison on Thursday, according to a release from 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson.

Carl T. Jordan, 23, and Malik N. Sherman, 24, both of Conway, each pleaded guilty to charges of armed robbery and kidnapping for the Nov. 26, 2016, robbery at the Dollar General store located on S.C. 905, said George DeBusk, the senior assistant solicitor who prosecuted the case for the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Jordan was sentenced to 17 years in prison while Sherman was sentenced to 15 years in prison, DeBusk said. Circuit Court Judge Steven H. John presided over the case.

Sherman also pleaded guilty to first-offense possession of cocaine and was sentenced to three years in prison for that charge. The sentences will run concurrently.

Jarrell L. James, 24, of Conway, pleaded guilty to charges of armed robbery and kidnapping from the November 2016 robbery, DeBusk said. James also pleaded guilty to attempted murder, which carries a penalty of up to 30 years, and was sentenced to 19 years in prison. His sentences will also run concurrently.

The men were scheduled for trial starting July 22 and would have faced up to 30 years in prison for the kidnapping charge and 10 to 30 years in prison for armed robbery.

The arrest warrants showed that the defendants ordered a man out of his vehicle in the parking lot and forced him to approach the store, where the doors were locked at 9:30 p.m., so his wife, who was an employee, would unlock the door to let him inside. Once inside, the defendants ordered the employees and patrons to the floor and stole money.

This story was originally published July 25, 2019 at 7:37 PM.