Friday, February 14, 2025

Columbus Co. man sentenced to 12 years for two Wilmington armed robberies

Jonathan Jenrette
Jonathan Jenrette

A Columbus County man has pleaded guilty in connection with two armed robberies in April.

Jonathan Jenrette 31, of Whiteville, pleaded guilty Thursday in New Hanover County Superior Court to charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a stolen firearm. Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. sentenced Jenrette to 73-100 months in the prison for the armed robbery charge followed by 29-47 months for the conspiracy and firearms charges.

Jenrette pleaded guilty to two armed robberies that occurred between April 20 and 21 in Wilmington, according to Assistant District Attorney Dru Lewis.

Wilmington police responded to 1222 S. Sixth St. just after 11:30 p.m., April 20, when a man reported he was robbed at gunpoint, according to police department spokeswoman Linda Rawley. The victim was walking home when he was approached by a man with a revolver near the corner of Kidder and Sixth streets.

The victim’s iPod and phone were taken, Lewis said. The suspect reportedly entered a white, four-door sedan with other people inside.

Another man was robbed while in the 1400 block of South Third Street at about 1:20 a.m. April 21. The victim was sitting in his car talking on the phone when two men robbed him at gunpoint, Rawley said. The men reportedly told the victim to exit the car and took the victim’s wallet.

The perpetrators were not happy with the amount of money the victim had, so they forced the victim into his apartment, where they stole more than $300 in cash and his cellphone, Lewis said.

Officers began to search for the white four-door vehicle, Lewis said, and later found it at the America Best Value Inn on Market Street.

“Officers…stopped the occupants at the hotel,” Lewis said. “One of the occupants threw a bag near trees at the hotel and in the bag was a revolver.”

A cellphone belonging to the first victim was also found on the defendant, he added.

Jenrette, along with two other co-defendants in the case – 21-year-old Jamal Marcus Johnson and 22-year-old Adrian Kiana Womble — were arrested and taken into custody.

Womble, of Mill Stream Drive in Whiteville, was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.  Johnson, of West Calhoun Street in Whiteville, was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping and a probation violation.

Court records show their cases are pending in New Hanover County Superior Court.

Adrian Womble
Adrian Womble
Jamall Johnson
Jamall Johnson

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