Jackson not guilty of robbery

By Cleve Wiese

Published: June 27, 2008

STAUNTON — A jury deliberated one hour and 15 minutes Friday before finding a Staunton man not guilty in the gunpoint robbery last year of the 7-Eleven convenience store on North Coulter Avenue.
Gregory Owen Jackson, 22, was charged as a co-defendant in the Nov. 13 early morning stick-up along with 19-year-old Nathaniel Rivers, of Norfolk. Rivers pleaded guilty on April 23 to both the 7-Eleven robbery and two subsequent hotel robberies in Augusta County, and his testimony Monday was the crux of the prosecution’s case against Jackson.
Jackson said he had been at work in Charlottesville at the time of the incident.
“I think it just came down to Rivers and whether the jury believed him or they didn’t,” defense attorney Michael Hallahan said after the trial.
Two masked men brandishing pistols ran into the 7-Eleven at around 1:15 a.m. on Nov. 13 and forced 41-year-old store clerk Daryl Sorrels – who was busy restocking shelves at the time – behind the counter, Sorrells testified. As Sorrells struggled with the electronic cash drawer’s access code, the stockier of the two suspects – who prosecutors alleged was Jackson – pointed a gun at the back of the clerk’s head, saying, “hurry up,” Sorrells testified.
After the stockier suspect emptied the register, the other robber – whom Rivers identified as himself – grabbed a police scanner and the two men fled the scene into a dark alley across the street from the store.
Shortly after the incident, a man who lived in an apartment complex across from the 7-Eleven and a Virginia State Trooper who had seen a segment of surveillance tape from the robbery on television news independently contacted the Staunton Police Department to tentatively identify the stockier suspect as someone other than Jackson, Hallahan said. Both testified Friday.
Investigator Mike King of the Staunton Police Department testified that the individual fingered by the tipsters was later cleared as a suspect largely based on statements from Nathaniel Rivers and his girlfriend, Windy Hamlett, who was waiting in the getaway car during the robbery.
Hamlett’s sister, Jessica Pannell, who was dating Jackson and was also waiting in the car during the incident, testified Friday that Jackson was not in the vehicle and had not been involved in the robbery. That testimony conflicted with earlier statements made before a grand jury, Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Figura said.
Neither Hamlett nor Pannell was charged in the incident.
The most potentially damaging testimony came from Rivers, who directly identified Jackson as his accomplice in the robbery. Rivers said he and Jackson, who were sharing an apartment with their girlfriends at the time, drove to Harrisonburg on Nov. 12 after an argument with their landlord, then returned to Staunton late that night and robbed the 7-Eleven. Both men are facing robbery charges in Harrisonburg for an incident the same evening, according to court documents.
Rivers and Jackson were members of rival street gangs, but made a truce after moving in together, Rivers testified. Rivers, a confessed member of the Bloods, covered his face with a red bandana during the robbery to signify his gang affiliation, while Jackson, a suspected member of the Crips, wore blue, Rivers testified.
Hallahan argued that Rivers – who is awaiting sentencing in both the 7-Eleven and later hotel robberies – testified against Jackson in the hopes of landing less prison time.
“He’s looking for a deal,” Hallahan said during his opening statement.
The 7-Eleven robbery netted just $60, Rivers testified.