Armed robbers sentenced to more than 99 years apiece

Sunday, April 05, 2009 3:06 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

By Shavonne Potts

spotts@salisburypost.com

Two Charlotte men have received sentences of more than 99 years each in federal prison for committing several armed robberies, including the 2005 robbery of a Salisbury Dollar General store.

On Monday, Andre L. Corbett, 28, and Niles M. Belk, 34, who is also known as Damon Jones, were sentenced to 141 years and 99.5 years in federal prison, respectively.

After a trial in December 2007, a federal jury convicted Corbett and Belk of conspiring to rob and robbing three Food Lion supermarkets and two Dollar General stores.

Additionally, the jury convicted Corbett of robbing a First Citizen's Bank branch and a Sam's Mart convenience store, for obstructing justice, threatening a federal law enforcement official and sending a threatening letter through the U.S. mail, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

Salisbury Police Detectives Brian Cooper and Tom Wilsey caught the armed defendants as they were trying to escape, with guns drawn, from the final robbery.

See Wednesday's Post for more details.