Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW BERN – An Ahoskie man will spend the next 8+ years in prison for a violent armed robbery he committed last December.

In U.S. District Court, Marcus Lee Deloatch, age 40, was sentenced to 102 months for the armed robbery of the Verizon store in Ahoskie on Dec. 21, 2023. The federal charges include the use of a firearm during and in relation to the robbery.

Deloatch pled guilty to those charges in June of this year.

According to documents and other information presented in court, Deloatch forced his way into the store through the back door as the manager was closing for the night.

Deloatch, a former employee of the store located on Memorial Drive, pistol-whipped the manager, knocking her to the ground and then went to the front of the store where the cash register was located. He pointed his firearm at another employee while he grabbed $1,200 out of the register.

During the encounter, Deloatch complained that the store owed him his last paycheck for $200. Deloatch then fled out the rear of the store.

Both victims recognized their former coworker and police were able to quickly find and arrest Deloatch, who commented that he had not planned on getting locked up until after Christmas.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan.

The FBI and the Ahoskie Police investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Aubart prosecuted the case.

“This was incredible teamwork from all agencies involved,” said Ahoskie Police Chief Michele Garrett. “I would like to thank Ahoskie Police officers, Ahoskie Police Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office for their relentless service.”