LANSING, MI – A man was sentenced for robbing multiple Lansing and Battle Creek businesses at gunpoint.
James Winston Honeysucker Jr., of Lansing, was convicted by a jury in February in U.S. Western District Court for four armed robberies committed between August and October 2019.
He was convicted and sentenced for four counts of interference with commerce by robbery and three counts of possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, federal court records show. In total, Honeysucker was sentenced on June 9 to 27 1/2 years in federal prison.
Honeysucker robbed cash advance businesses: two in Lansing and two in Battle Creek, a U.S. Department of Justice news release said. He would pretend to be interested in applying for a loan and then he would point a pistol at the clerk and demand cash.
After the first robbery, Honeysucker recruited Wilnell Lakeey Henry, of Lansing, to serve as a getaway driver. He was the getaway driver for three robberies.
Henry was sentenced to six years in prison for his role. He cooperated with police and testified against Honeysucker, the release said.
They managed to steal $66,920 and must pay that amount back in restitution, court records show. The biggest theft was at Check ‘n Go in Battle Creek, where he stole just over $42,100.
Another robbery in Battle Creek at Approved Cash netted the pair $17,000, records show.
Henry was arrested Oct. 22, 2019, after Battle Creek Police Department found surveillance footage showing him as the getaway driver after a robbery. Honeysucker was found at a bus station in Chicago.
Local police arrested Honeysucker and found he was in possession of $17,000 in cash and a loaded pistol, the release said.
The FBI helped link the pair to the other robberies.
“This defendant committed four brazen armed robberies that terrorized innocent victims and endangered lives,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters said in the release. “The sentence handed down should serve as an example to others – if you rob any kind of business with a firearm in Michigan, law enforcement at all levels will work together to bring you to justice.”
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