“The cashier threw the gun down an aisle and ran out the store”

From MPD:

Torron Frieson, also known as Torron Frierson, 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 7 ½-year prison term on charges stemming from a robbery earlier this year of a liquor store and market in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

Frieson pled guilty in March 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of robbery and two related firearms offenses. The Honorable Patricia A. Broderick sentenced him. Upon completion of his prison term, Frieson will be placed on three years of supervised release.

According to the government’s evidence, on Feb. 7, 2013, at about 8:35 p.m., Frieson entered the M & S Liquor Store and Market in the 200 block of Upshur Street NW. He pulled a mask over his face, grabbed a bag of chips, and walked to the cashier counter. As the cashier prepared to provide change for the chip purchase, Frieson walked into the cashier’s booth, produced a long black handgun, pointed it at the cashier, and grabbed money from the register.

The cashier attempted to move the gun away from him and a physical struggle ensued. During the struggle, the cashier was struck and items in the store were broken. Frieson’s gun and car keys fell to the floor, and parts of the mask came off his face. The cashier threw the gun down an aisle and ran out the store. Frieson then retrieved the gun, and fled the scene, leaving his cell phone behind.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) determined that the defendant had been in the store to purchase beer minutes before he returned for the robbery. Officers also determined that the set of keys left behind by the defendant belonged to a Dodge Durango parked in an alley by the store. Officers found a .45-caliber cartridge stamped 45 Colt Hornady inside the store near the cashier counter. The Dodge Durango was registered to Frieson.

Pursuant to a search warrant, the Dodge Durango was searched and the beer that Frieson had purchased minutes before the robbery was inside the car. Frieson also was identified in a photo array. Frieson was arrested on Feb. 15, 2013 at a residence in Northeast Washington. Inside of one of the bedrooms at the residence was a black Ruger .45 caliber revolver with six cartridges stamped 45 Colt Hornady.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Debra McPherson, Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalia Medina, who prosecuted the case.